


Supernatural: Olympus Rising

by Dgray3994



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, John's A+ Parenting, Old Flames, Past Loves, What Would Happen If, first real love, my own take on the next season, olympian gods, supernatural season, what happens next, who's this chick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 05:18:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 337,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17016477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dgray3994/pseuds/Dgray3994
Summary: Sam and Dean thought they finally got a break... no such luck, because when Sam catches a story come across the line with the name of an old friend, they know somethings going on. It wasn't until Dean looked into her eyes that the past that he longed to forget came crashing back and the woman he thought was dead sat right in front of him.Now, on top of a growing number of Greek God related cases, Sam and Dean find out what really happened fifteen years ago while Sam struggles to remember the woman that they partner up with in order to solve not only his memory loss but the reason why the three of them have been thrown together once again.





	1. I want my dolly

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking this out. The first four were originally posted with Ali Porter as the main character's name, but we know what happens to Ali in The Hunted (Dark Hunters). The name graces a lot of fics so I thought I would introduce this character as Beth. She will always be the original Ali, even with the name change, and funny enough, with all that went on, I'm surprised I never got more than four posted. This is the whole 23-episode season of Supernatural. Enjoy. 
> 
> Comments and kudos welcome, say anything you want, I'm a big girl, I can handle it.
> 
> 6/26/19 Reading through the copies on my drive, I realized how many of the name changes I missed, so if this pops up that I posted a new chapter, it's more of the fact that I was editing names. Sorry for the confusion.

“I want my dolly! ” 

SPN Fanfic

Plot copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Bobby Singer and the Impala are the property of The CW

 

THEN

Miller Residence, Ware, Massachusetts

She snuck around a corner, crouching like a small child who just wanted to see what was going on in the other room without getting caught.  As she moved, she pulled her long, dark hair back into a ponytail. She was getting close, she could feel it.

The little yelp from a child down the hall was all she needed to move at full speed, and with less than four strides she was sliding into the bedroom of a small boy.  He appeared to be holding a teddy bear, his arms stretched out as if looking at it fully, keeping it an arm’s length away. She could see that there was something else there, a creature with bright red eyes, flowing hair and the evil face of something long dead.  Its crooked, bony fingers clutched the bear and the boy’s hands within its grasp, as its body floated above the floor.

Like an evil tooth-fairy, it grinned in her direction, laughing at her with a deep throated malicious enjoyment. It acted as if it had already won, but she had other plans.  She lay on her stomach, pressed against the floor, and reached with one hand behind her back to pull out a small, sawed-off shotgun. With the other hand, she cocked it back, letting the salt pellets fly at the specter in front of her.  The young boy screamed at the sound and ducked down under his bed, forgetting all about the bear in the room. 

The ghoul roared with pain in her direction, its red eyes widening as it became angered by her actions.  She sat up, braced herself against the doorjamb, and fired off another round, this time hitting it dead center.  Nothing, the salt did nothing! She reached for the machete attached to her leg, it was heavy, made of iron and very sharp. As she stood to swing for it, the beastly thing came right for her.  Her arm came down in a sweeping motion, aiming for its head, but just when it would have hit home, the damn thing disappeared and the blade stuck in the wooden molding of the door. 

She yanked on the handle, prepared for the worst, and placed her foot against the wall to get more leverage. Just as she pulled it from its hold, the demon returned, and she swung. She caught it across the stomach as it snatched up the teddy bear and disappeared into the shadows of the closet.

She ran quickly towards the darkness and kept the knife in her hand as she frantically dug through the closet. She was suddenly startled by the bedroom’s overhead light as it flicked on. She stopped and looked at the two horrified parents of the boy, as he crawled out from under the bed.

“What the hell is going on here?”  The father asked as the mother wrapped her arms around her little boy.

“She saved me from the monster in the closest.”  The young one exclaimed as he grinned up at her. “But, Mommy, it took my bear.”

“I’m calling the police!”  The father exclaimed. She dropped the machete, raised her hands, and leaned breathlessly against the wall, as if to say she wasn’t dangerous.

NOW

Sam Winchester sat typing away at the laptop in front of him, focused on the screen, the blue light illuminating the color of his eyes.  He was so engrossed, he didn’t even notice the cup of coffee that his older brother, Dean, had placed down beside him. He had been completely ignoring the bored sighs that were coming from the other side of the table. He pushed the long wisp of hair out of his sight for probably the twelfth time, annoyed. It wasn’t until he felt the long end of a pen hit him across the forehead that he bothered to look up.  

Sam’s hazel eyes hit his brother’s smiling green ones with a bit of annoyance and a scowl on his face. He pushed his chair back and took a deep breath.  “What is it, Dean?”

“I’m bored!”  The older one exclaimed, which made Sam give a small shake of his head. Dean leaned forward, his own coffee cupped between both hands.  “Find me something to do.”

Sam gave out a huff before turning the laptop so they both could look at the screen.  “Ware, Massachusetts…” he began.

“Where?” questioned Dean with complete seriousness.

“Yes, Massachusetts,” he repeated and continued, “a rash of disappearances in the area has the local cops pretty baffled. State troopers are out in full force but no one knows anything else.”

“Huh,” Dean nodded, as if still bored. “So?”

“The disappearances range in age from infant to young adult, most have been right out of their homes but they have a suspect in custody.”

“Oh good, so why are you telling me?”

Sam turned the screen around fully so Dean could see the woman.  She had long dark hair, and a cocky expression. “Get this… her name is Bobbie Singer.”

Dean gave him a quick glance of disbelief and grabbed the computer.  He looked over the photo of her for only a few minutes before he turned the laptop back to his brother.  “Check out her necklace.” Just above the edge of where the picture cut off was a small charm that he recognized from a long time ago.  The original anti-possession one just like Bobby had given them before they decided on the tattoos. “What did you say was going on here again?”

“Disappearing kids, almost all were taken from their homes.”

“Okay, so she’s either a hunter, or a nutcase.”

“Only one way to find out.”

 

Twenty-four hours later:

The classic, 1967 black Impala idled up to the front of the Ware Police Department on North Street.  It was a small-town brick building, that sat diagonally across the narrow street from a large church.  Sam closed the laptop and sighed as he studied the square, one-story building. Dean leaned his head out the car window and stared up at the tower of the church.

“Welcome to Mayberry.”  He sighed, frowning at Sam as they got out of the car. Dressed to impress in suits and ties, the two of them, Sam slightly taller than Dean, walked into the claustrophobic reception area of the police department.  They scanned around the room and noticed three seats to the right, one door straight ahead, another just past the chairs and a reception window to the left. An older woman with short gray hair greeted them with a smile.

“Can I help you gentlemen?”  She questioned. Sam peeked at her name plate, Deloris Spellborne, and pulled a badge out of his pocket flashing it at the woman.

“I’m Agent Hetfield, this is my partner Agent Hammett. We’re here about a suspect that you’ve detained,” Sam flipped open a small black book, “a one Bobbie Singer?”

“Just a moment.”  She responded and stepped away from the window.  Sam turned and was watching Dean flip through the missing and wanted flyers on the wall when the door opened and Deloris stepped aside.  “This way, gentlemen.”

While they followed her through the department, they noticed it was set up just like any other small-town station, but when she opened the door to the interrogation room, they knew that this wasn’t just any typical case.  A burly officer stood, with his arms crossed, at the side of a small table. He was tall, only a few inches shorter than Sam himself. He was a stern looking man, but to have someone his size guarding the woman who sat shackled to the metal table seemed a bit more than necessary. 

“Officer Talbot was the arresting officer on the case.  If you need any information, he can provide it.” She explained but the straight-faced man didn’t say a word.  “Otherwise, let us know when you are done.” 

With that, both stepped out of the room to leave them with this petite, cuffed woman.

Dean cleared his throat and started to speak. “Bobbie Singer?”  He asked, and received no response. “My name is Agent…”

“Dean,” she acknowledged sarcastically and raised her head, looking up from the table.  He stopped dead, and Sam watched as his mouth hung open. The scene was odd, he watched as his brother slowly pulled out a chair and sat down staring at the woman across from him.  “There is no way you’re going to pull off Agent Metallica in here, are you insane?”

“Beth?” he breathed, almost inaudible. Sam found himself watching the interaction with confusion. The woman looked up at Sam and smiled.

“It was the only way I could think of getting you here,” she answered and picked up her hands, as if showing him the cuffs would make her explanation anymore valid.  “I needed to get you and Sam to come to Ware. Using Bobby was the only way I could think of how to do it.”

“Wait,” Sam spoke up, “who are you?”

“Elizabeth,” Dean replied for her.  “Elizabeth Peterson.”

Sam lowered his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose just between his eyes.  “I’ll get the papers set for her to be released to us.” He stated and watched as Dean just stared.  “I’m going to guess there’s a case here?”

“I wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t.”  She grinned, but he saw the smirk fade when she looked at Dean.  Sam nodded, the grimace on his face made his emotions evident to his older brother, who placed his hands on the table and folded his fingers together slowly.  Sam patted Dean on the shoulder and left the room, leaving the two of them to catch up. 

“Where the hell have you been?”  Dean questioned. He meant for it to come out as a snap, to be angry and forceful, but it wasn’t, not at all. In fact, the depth of his concern for her seemed to seep out with every word.

“Anywhere between here and the Canadian border.” She shrugged. 

“It’s been years, Beth, with no calls, no contact? How are you even here?”  Dean sat forward, closing the distance. “Do you even know what has been happening?”

“I know everything, Dean,” she nodded and reached out, the tip of her fingers touched his hand, “and, I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on here?”

“A case, a…personal case.”  

“Your sister’s case?”

She laughed. “We all get into the business somehow, Dean.”  

Just then, the door opened and Sam walked in with Officer Talbot. He said nothing but unlocked the bolt that held her to the table, and helped her to her feet.  Without a word, at least, without one that Dean recalled, the three of them were escorted to the side entrance of the station and Talbot watched as they placed “Bobbie Singer,” still handcuffed, into the backseat of the Impala.

After five minutes of nothing but the sound of the engine, Sam turned in the passenger’s seat and watched Beth stare out the window.  Her eyes were heavy and the dark circles under them told Sam that she hadn’t slept peacefully in a while. When he noticed Dean looking back at her in the mirror, he nudged him and signaled for him to turn his eyes back to the road.

“I have a room at the Copper Lantern on Route 9, unless you already found a place to crash for the night.”  Beth spoke up as she slung the cuffs over Sam’s shoulder. “It’s off the main street, no one asks any questions.”

Both agreed and headed out of town towards West Brookfield. The back, winding roads brought them through woods, past another inn and some small swamp area. Like she had mentioned, it was off the main road and just the kind of place they liked to stay in. Quiet, where no one asked questions.  Sam went to the front office to get a room while Dean pulled the Impala up to door seven. 

Once the room was opened and Beth flicked on the light, Dean whistled at the amount of research that lined the walls.  Beth smiled as she took off her coat and flung herself on the closest of the two beds. She watched intently as he pulled out a chair and looked at the paper-covered wall. 

Sam knocked as he opened the door slowly and found Dean watching Beth, who had fallen asleep soon after she laid down.  He tapped Dean on the shoulder and gestured for him to follow but it seemed to be difficult for his brother to take his eyes off of the sleeping woman.

As soon as they stopped by the trunk of the Impala, Sam grabbed him by the arm.  “What the hell is going on here, Dean?”

“I don’t know, Sammy.  She’s supposed to be dead.”  He opened the trunk and grabbed the bags out even as he continued to watch the room in front of him.

“Who is she exactly?” 

“You don’t remember?” Sam only shrugged. “Before you and Dad had that big fight, before you left, we helped her father with a case in upstate New York.  We were there for about two weeks. Beth followed us around like a smitten teenage girl. Seriously, Sam, she pulled you out of the river.”

“I don’t remember.” Sam rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.  “So, you thought she was dead? Why?”

“The last thing we did before we left her father’s place was salt and burn their bodies, and their house.”  Sam stared at him in complete shock, not for what they did, but for the way he said it, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Are you sure it was her?”

“It wasn’t.”  Dean replied and glared up at him.  “I knew it wasn’t her in that fire. I knew it in the pit of my stomach, I felt it in my bones.”

“So what is she?”  Sam pointed at the room.  “Are you saying that isn’t Beth?”

“I’m saying that I don’t know, but I know that whoever is in that room is on our side.”  Dean replied as he grabbed his bag. Sam was going to point out that they were in room six, but Dean walked right into Beth’s room without even a second thought. 

 

Beth sat glaring at Dean, her light eyes catching the fluorescent rays of the outdated table lamp.  Dean’s green eyes looked her over as she leaned forward on the bed, and Sam only rolled his at his brother’s behavior as he sat back and crossed his hands behind his head.  They had been at this for more than an hour, just studying each other and as much fun as it was to watch, Sam was beyond annoyed.

“Alright,” he spoke up, breaking the silence, “spill. What’s your story?”

“Dean knows my story, and so do you, even if you can’t remember it.  Something killed my sister, John and the two of you came up to help get rid of it, and you did, but what you burned on that pyre wasn’t me.”  Beth sneered.

“Then who was it?”

“Not a who, a what,” Beth turned back to Dean.  “Remember, before the hunt began, the two of us tried to sneak off into the woods, tried to get a handle on it?”

“No matter what kind of monster you might be, you would know that. We were kids, of course we were going to sneak off into the woods.”  Dean answered, which provoked a quick look from Sam as if asking; exactly what would you be doing? “Beth and I were together almost every minute of those two weeks, there is no way that I wouldn’t have noticed the switch.”

“But you didn’t notice, Dean, because there was a moment that we weren’t together. Just try to remember.”

Dean looked down at his hands, thinking back to those two weeks and suddenly he did remember.  “We got separated in the mineshaft, maybe twenty feet from the entrance. I heard a noise off to the left, told you to stay right there, but it was only a minute.  I hadn’t walked more than a few yards.”

“In the dark, in a tunnel that went so far underground that most people who went in there got lost and died.”  Beth sighed, she moved over and knelt down in front of him, a gesture that Dean backed away from, until she placed her hands on his.  “A moment was all it needed. To this day, I don’t know what it was, a shifter, a demon, whatever, but I was out cold for hours. When I woke up I was lost in that mine. It took me three days to find my way out, and another two just to get my bearings to get home. By then my father was dead…you assumed I was dead.”

Dean leaned in close to her, almost touching nose to nose. “You did die.”

“Fine, then what was it that killed me?” Her tone was little more than a growl, feeling his anger, but not letting go.  “Silver? Iron? Who took the shot? Who thrust the blade?” For a moment, Dean sat frozen, his facial expression was blank. Then suddenly, he was up and out of the room.  Sam stood and watched as Beth moved back to the bed. “You’re not going after him?” 

Sam was actually debating on whether to stay and interrogate her more or go off and find Dean, but the way his brother left, Sam knew following him was the only option. Very rarely had Sam ever seen his brother walk something off. By the time he figured out that Dean hadn’t gone very far, Sam found him headed back towards him with a bottle of whiskey in hand.

“Dean, what’s going on?” Sam watched him walk by but then he suddenly stopped and turned to look at his younger brother.

“It’s her, Sammy, it’s really Beth.”  Dean replied. 

“How? How do you know she’s telling the truth?”

“I thought it was a trick of the eyes, that I had seen it wrong.  There was so much fog and smoke from the house. I saw Paul put a knife in her heart, a silver knife, right before he died.”  Dean seemed to lose all of his strength in his legs as he squatted down, placing the bottle on the gravel. “I lost her in those tunnels, I watched her father kill her doppelganger, and I never thought anything of it.  I did this to her Sammy, I left her alone all this time.”

“I haven’t been alone Dean.”  Beth’s voice spoke up behind him.  He stood quickly and turned towards her.  She placed her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and shrugged.  “I had Bobby. Rufus. Hell, at one point I was making my rounds at the bar with Ash and Ellen at the Roadhouse.  I was not alone, I just never got the opportunity to run into the two of you again. It’s how I know everything, Dean. From start to finish, I have watched and followed, but this one I had to do alone, until I couldn’t.”

Dean closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her.  Beth closed her eyes and let him hold her for as long as he needed. He could feel her heartbeat, smell the shampoo in her hair, and feel the heat of her body. He held on tighter, before suddenly taking her shoulders and pushing her back so he could look at her face.

“It wasn’t your fault.” She whispered and reached up to touch his cheek.  His eyes glistened with tears but he sniffled and got his composure together before letting her go.  Dean grabbed the bottle off the ground and threw a glance at Sam. “Do you want to know what we’re up against or what?”

Both nodded and followed her back to the motel room. 

 

Beth stood in front of the wall, her back to Sam and Dean, but she could tell they were making eye gestures back and forth as they waited. She turned and smiled as they both sat up straight.

“I’m not sure of what kind of spirit it is, I haven’t quite gotten that part down but it uses what some people refer to as animism. Demons can’t possess an inanimate object, just latch onto it.  This one actually possesses it, and it collects them.” Beth stated and grabbed a book, showing Sam the drawings of a crazed looking, cloaked woman with jagged teeth and clawed hands. “I’ve been tracking it for years, and the pattern is pretty specific. Every two years it pops up in different areas of New England.  This time it happens to be in this small town. It snatches three to six at a time and then moves on. There’s only one problem, the lore on it doesn’t mention a way to kill it.”

“So, we’re pretty much screwed.” Dean snapped.

“Not really.” 

“How do you stop something you can’t kill?” Sam questioned.

“Well, the lore of animism is that people believe everything has a soul or a spirit.  It literally means spirit or life, so if you believe in it hard enough, transferring a spirit to something like a doll or a stuffed animal isn’t all that farfetched.”

“We’re talking about haunted dolls here?” Dean glanced at Sam in disbelief.

“It’s not all that unheard of.” Beth grabbed her journal and pulled up a chair closer to the boys.  “This is an ongoing journal, kind of like what your dad gave you, but I got mine from my grandfather. It tells of a case of animism that happened in Massachusetts back in the early 1700s.  A family living just outside the colonies was plagued by some sort of hysteria. They attributed it to the witch craze that was going on at the time, but their youngest daughter, Emmeline seemed to show signs of possession.  She was speaking in Latin backwards, crawling up walls, black eyes, the whole nine. They brought in a priest to have her exorcised but that didn’t work and he decided that he was going to go one step further. They brought in a shaman.”

“Oh, that can’t be good.”  Dean shook his head.

“No, not at all.  In fact what they ended up doing was pushing Emmeline’s spirit into the closest object to her, a doll one of the women in the colony had given the family when they decided to move.  The mother had been told that the doll would bring them good fortune and a good harvest.”

“Let me guess, it was from a witch?”

“They don’t know, it doesn’t specify, but it does speculate. Anyway, with the body free of its soul, the demon was able to take over completely and hell rained down on the family. Everyone was dead except the priest, and Emmeline’s body disappeared.  When they came and cleaned out the house, and by clean it, I mean they burned it to the ground, only the doll survived because another villager happened to grab it, to give to his girl, and so on. Two years after the destruction of the house, people began to disappear in the village, only a handful but they noticed something else went missing along with the people.”

“It wouldn’t have happened to be a doll?”  Sam spoke up.

“Any object.  It didn’t need to specifically be a doll, its preference seems to be that but it can be anything.  The problem was that within a month after disappearing the person would return to the town, but they weren’t human.”

“Demons?”  Dean questioned.

“Reanimated corpses, “Night of the Living Dead” kind of deal.  They didn’t attack, they just went back to their houses, sort of a residual memory of the last place they remembered being alive.  Of course, that, in itself, brought chaos to the village. The family members would end up doing the only thing they knew how. They would trap them inside and burn the house to the ground.”

“So how does Emmeline’s doll come into play?”

“It was tracked by the priest, who listened for the signs of possession, as he called them, and visited each place.  He had the magistrates there check every house for the doll. The issue was, within two decades, the doll disappeared, but the killings continued.”

“So since the doll vanished, how did he keep track?”  Sam was a bit uneasy about the whole story.

“He tracked what went missing in the houses.”  Beth sighed, rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes.  “I know, it seems a little unreal but this is what I can tell you, every two years this thing pops out of the woodwork and kids disappear.  It has a pattern, a route you could say. Towns, cities and villages following a specific path along the Quabbin, are being targeted, the one I stopped, that was the last one in Ware.”

“How did you know it was going to try and grab the boy?”

“The day before it hits, kids start acting strange, like someone throwing a tantrum.”

“That could be any spoiled brat out there.”  Dean added.

“It’s pretty specific.  The child, and I say child lightly because I’ve seen nineteen-year-olds get into these fits.  They start acting like a little kid, throwing a hissy fit because they can’t get what they want.  It’s not always a doll, sometimes it’s a teddy bear, sometimes it’s a G.I. Joe. Hell, one time I saw someone throw a fit over a plastic tea set.  It’s the way they do it that gives it away. That night whatever the hell it is comes to their room and takes them, but they have to go willingly. It’s like the Candyman, it pulls them in and whatever object they have, the spirit takes it with them.”

“Okay, so we have some sort of vengeful ghost that takes kids and their toys? For what reason?”  

“It’s collecting them.” Sam spoke up.  “The objects, you said animism is involved?” Beth nodded and watched as Dean looked back and forth between them, prompting Sam to continue explaining. “They have to voluntarily give up their souls, which goes into the object, that’s why the body comes back lifeless.”

“You mean like some kind of creepy doll collector?”  Dean questioned.

“What is it with you and dolls?”  Beth asked him, sarcastically and watched as he gave her a ‘screw off’ glance with his eyes before turning back to Sam, and she grinned.  

“So, what’s the plan?”

“What do you do with a vengeful ghost?” Beth asked and shrugged. 

“Find the remains and turn them to ash.”

“Exactly, but here’s the problem.  If you remember, I told you that Emmeline’s body disappeared, so there is no body to burn.”

“We have to find the doll.” Sam spoke up, closing the journal.

“Exactly how do you track down a three-hundred year old doll?” Dean snapped.

“You follow the pattern.”  Beth grabbed a map from the floor and rolled it out on the table, both the brothers walked over and stood as she ran her hand along the lines highlighted on the map.  “For years, I’ve been tracking the stops that it’s made. They all run along the lines of what’s now the Quabbin Reservoir. There were four towns that were disincorporated in 1938, Dana, Prescott, Enfield, and Greenwich,” with each name she pointed them out on the map, “and it follows the lines of the Quabbin. Sometimes it strays but always comes back to the same place.  Emmeline was born, and died, in Greenwich, the last of the four towns. When the land was divided off, and the town of Greenwich was leveled by the water, the last of its remains became part of the town of Ware.”

“So this is her Ground Zero?”  Dean pointed at the small town on the map. 

“More specifically, the part of Quabbin that connects to the town of Ware seems to be.  There are entrances to the reservoir not more than fifteen minutes from here.” Beth watched as Sam grabbed the book and started to flip through it again. The look on his face told her a thousand words, but she needed to hear it from him.  She needed to hear that he didn’t believe her, and it didn’t take long.

“You’re on a wild goose chase for a doll that is over three centuries old and you have no proof that it even exists anymore.  How are you going to find this thing?” 

“Animism is not a new concept, Sam, it’s a belief that non-human entities possess or can possess a spiritual essence.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Fine.”  She nodded and sat down at the table once more.  “At each house I’ve been to, in search of this thing, there’s always been a high level of EMF, and also this,” she pulled out a small glass vial from her bag. It contained a nasty black slime.  

“Ectoplasm.”  Dean sneered. “Great, I hate this stuff.”

“What does it want with the kids, and the objects?”  Sam inquired.

“I think it’s the way it feeds.”  Beth grabbed the book from him and flipped through the pages.  “There are different depictions of it through the years, and I mean a lot of them.  Each one is a little different and it seems to get stronger each time . For instance, the priest in the beginning said that before the children were taken, they would say something about a little girl. Later on, it became a young woman, and now it’s this thing.” She stopped going through the pages and handed the book back to him.  “The only way you’re going to believe me is if you go back to the house, talk to the little boy, and investigate. It’s what you guys do.”

“What are you going to do?”  Dean asked as she put some things in a bag.  

“There’s a place along the Quabbin where there are rumored to be some caves.  If my hunch is right, that’s where the spirit is hiding its collection of toys.” She smiled and glanced at Sam, who was shooting questioning looks at his brother.  “Don’t worry boys, it’s not like the thing wants me, I’m a bit too old for it.”

She stepped out the door and made her way over to the small 1985 black Mustang that was parked off to the right of the parking lot.  Dean followed close behind, and watched as she opened the trunk, then a metal locker underneath filled with guns, salt, knives, and other hunting materials. He wanted to say something, anything, but all he could do was observe as she placed different items in the bag, a rope, a flashlight, a silver knife, nothing really safe to hunt with.

“I’m going with you.”  He finally spoke up. Beth smiled as she turned towards him, slamming the hatch shut. 

“I’m not that girl, Dean. I’m not going to get hurt or lost in a cave.”  But she could see that the past was wearing on him. “Talk to me.”

“I just don’t want you going by yourself.  Sam can talk to the kid’s parents, that’s a one man job, but you going alone into a place with a monster who can’t be killed by anything that we know of?  That’s not a good plan.” Beth rested her hand on his chest and thought for a moment before giving him a light pat.

“A good plan would have been to tell you a lot sooner that I was alive and kicking.”  She opened the driver’s side door and tossed the bag in. “But I didn’t do that either.  Go with Sam, maybe you two can get some information that I couldn’t, a fresh set of eyes.”

“Beth?” Dean pleaded.

“Dean, I’m not changing my mind.”  She slipped into the car, just as he reached out to grab her arm and a moment later the engine roared to life. 

Dean watched as the car roared out of the dirt parking lot, kicking up dust as it went. Once back inside the motel room, Sam watched as he tossed his gun on the table and sat down to look at Beth’s maps. He smiled at the frustration that one woman caused his brother, not used to Dean being this affected, but thoroughly enjoying it.

“Stubborn smartass!” Dean mumbled under his breath.

“Stubborn or not, she has this thing pretty well researched.  Knowing what she does can bring a whole new twist on everything we do.  Inanimate objects that possess souls, their own souls and not demons. What category does that fall under?  How do you protect people from things that can come to life?”

“I just wish she didn’t go alone.”

“You can’t protect her, Dean. She’s a grown woman.”

“I couldn’t protect her back then either.”  He growled. “Fifteen years! Fifteen years and never once did I think back on that night and realize that I made such a big mistake.”

“You weren’t the only one there, Dean, you couldn’t have known.”

“I should have, Sammy, I should have been able to spot the differences.  She was my best friend!” He put his head back against the wall and sighed.  “It wasn’t just those two weeks you know. We had seen her so many times. I don’t think you remember, but Dad used to leave me with strict instructions that if anything ever went down, Paul was the one to call when we were in the area, and Beth,” he paused for a moment, “Beth would sneak down to the motel, just to check in.  After you were asleep, we would sit out on the step and talk all night.”

“Really?”  Sam smiled, fixing the tie around his collar. “I never noticed.”

“That we talked, nah, you wouldn’t have.  We kept it secret, didn’t want it to upset you.”

“Me? Why me?” Sam was curious now. “How much of a secret?”  It was the first time that the scowl left Dean’s face as it turned to a grin, a wide knowing one that Sam just rolled his eyes at.  

“What? We were teenagers, you can’t blame me for what we did when we were kids.”

“What you two did..?” he wanted to laugh, but he could see how deep the connection was just by looking in his brother’s eyes.  “Get dressed, we have stuff to do.”

Barnes Cemetery, Pelham, Massachusetts

The Mustang rumbled to a halt in a patch of grass on the side of a winding back road.  Beth looked around, waiting to see if anyone would drive by, but the road seemed unusually quiet for something so well maintained. She grabbed her bag and locked up the car before crossing the street towards a small grass trail that headed into the thick woods.  It was obviously a driveway to something, but it was so unused that thick crabgrass had grown into the deep tire tracks. 

Three-hundred feet from the road, Beth spotted the first part of the granite wall.  As she stepped out into the clearing, she was met with an abandoned cemetery. The receiving vault was just ahead, to the side a small four-step stairway that lead up to the actual cemetery. As she looked around, not stepping past the iron gate, she noticed the strange way that the land had settled.  Every grave was sunken in, the grass above them was dried and dead, unlike the ground around them which was lush with thick green grass.

She stepped back and over to the vault.  It had a heavy iron door, which looked as if at one point it was rusted in place. The bar that had once secured it to the concrete wall, was bent at one end and the bolt lay on the ground beside it.  The door itself was opened only a few inches, but that would be just enough for her to get a peek inside, at least to have some vantage point.

She clicked on a small flashlight, attaching a mirror to the end of it and pointed it into the darkness.  Where the light shined directly into the stone crypt, she could see nothing but smooth black walls, but through the mirror, she noticed a small opening that sank deeper into the darkness, down in the corner.  Beth only had one choice.

She turned the mirror slightly and pushed her arm further into the chilly air. “Please don’t grab my arm,” she prayed, “please don’t grab my arm.”

The flashlight beam landed on the small two-foot opening which looked as if it had been dug after the vault was erected.  Each of the small, flat stones used to create the room’s wall, had been placed on either side and dirt from the hole had piled up not more than two feet from it, as if an animal had dug down into the earth.

A loud knock against a tree behind her made her snatch her arm from the blackness and she pressed her back against the door, trying to catch her racing heart.  In the direction of the sound, she noticed a small path that followed around the side of the cemetery walls. She followed it cautiously, until she happened to spot a hole in the side of the sloping hill.  It was man-made, having the same flat stones for a wall and a slab for a roof. Crouching down, Beth shined the flashlight into the opening and noticed that it was only about two-feet in length, before it hit the same stone wall once again.  Placing her bag to the side, she laid down flat against the leaf covered ground, placed the end of the small LED light in her mouth and crawled in only as far as the entrance. 

The rest of the “cave” was rounded walls and a slate ceiling, as if it had been purposely built to hide someone or a few someones. It was the strange smell that caught her attention, drawing her to the corner closest to the cemetery.  There, under a pile of undisturbed leaves, was another pathway into the darkness. It was at that point that she was sure she had the right place; she just needed back up, and the gall to go in and face it.

After a quick look around once more, she backed out, gathered her things and headed back to the Mustang, dusting off as she went. Beth tossed the bag in the back of the car and made her way to the motel and waited for Sam and Dean to finish what they were sent out to do.

Miller Residence, Ware, Massachusetts.

Sam rang the doorbell as Dean searched around the flowerbeds outside the house.  When the door opened a petite blond woman stood in the doorway. She looked them over once or twice, taking in their neatly pressed suits before switching the weight on her feet.

“Mrs. Miller?”  Sam smiled.

“Yes, how can I help you?”  Both of them flashed the FBI badges they held.

“Agent Hetfield, Agent Hammett, FBI ma’am.” Sam addressed her, Dean politely nodded.  “We’re here to follow up on an incident in your home. Could we come in and ask you a few questions?”

“I already talked to the cops about this.”  

“We’ve taken over the case and we just want to make sure we have all the facts straight.”  She stepped aside and gestured them in. Dean noticed the small boy that stood at the bottom of the stairs and gave him a wink.  “From what we understand, you found a woman in your son’s room?”

“Yes, we’re still not sure how she got in but she fired a gun in the house, which is what woke up both my husband and myself.”  Mrs. Miller sat down on a plush chair, and Sam took the seat across from her as Dean approached the boy. “Donnie was under his bed when we came in and she was pulling a large blade out of the closet door.  She just looked at us and put her hands up. What was she doing in the house?”

“Mrs. Miller, would you mind if my partner took at look at Donnie’s room?”  She shrugged and glanced at Dean, who knelt down in front of the blond-haired boy.

“Would you mind showing me your room, Donnie?”  Dean spoke softly. The six-year-old nodded and walked him up the stairs.

“From what the suspect told the police and us upon questioning, she said she watched as someone broke into your son’s room, found a way in herself and tried to stop the person from taking your son. Does that make any sense to you?”  Sam continued with his questions.

“The window was opened, something we usually keep locked because of the air conditioning, but that night it was open.  We assumed she came in through the window but the police said she confessed to picking the lock on the back door. Who confesses to things like that?”  Mrs. Miller questioned frantically. “Donnie came out from under the bed and said that she took his teddy bear, but the woman was still in the room. Could there really have been someone else in there trying to kidnap him?  That poor woman was just trying to save his life.”

“Mrs. Miller, did Donnie seem to be acting a little unusual in the days prior to the break-in?”

“Not more than usual, we thought he had some sort of fever one of the days.  It’s why we bought the teddy bear that was stolen. He threw such a fit in the store because he didn’t feel good and had to have it.  We just wanted to save the embarrassment of his tantrum so we got it for him. Is that how they target children, by the toys you buy them?”  Sam could see that she was getting a little more upset with each passing question so he had to change directions.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Miller, the bear has nothing to do with it, but I have a few odd questions for you.  Have you seen any strange shadows, smelt any sulfur? Knocks on the walls or unusual activity?”

“No,” she replied, quite confused.  

 

Dean was yanked up the stairs by the little boy ahead of him.  Donnie had a tight grip on his hand and there wasn’t any sign of him letting go, but as they rounded the corner, Dean watched as the kid gave a terrified glance into the room to the left.  Dean pointed at the room, not saying a word and opened the door. It seemed that no one had entered since the night of the break-in, grains of salt still littered the hardwood floor. The shotgun shells were gone since the police took them for evidence, but he could see the mark where her machete had stuck into the door frame. 

As he stepped further into the room, he heard Donnie whine, so he did the only thing he thought would help.  He shushed the boy and slowly made his way to the closet. Once there, he moved the clothing slowly until he was able to show the little man that there was nothing to be afraid of.  He smiled at Donnie then glanced to the back wall. There, burnt into the woodwork, was a circular mark big enough that it might have been mistaken for a hole. Dean reached out and touched the spot, the blackened tar stuck to the tips of his fingers and he couldn’t help but turn his lips up in disgust.  

“Donnie, can you tell me what happened that night?”  Dean asked in a hushed voice as he walked away from the closet and knelt down in front of the boy.

“She came out of there and told me she wanted my bear.”  He answered truthfully. “I told her that it was mine and she couldn’t have it, so she said I could come with her and we could share it.  To be honest, she was a little creepy, her nails were all dirty and stuff. I think she really needed a bath instead of an animal.”

Dean couldn’t help but smile, the kid wasn’t going to let some creepy ghost scare him. “So what happened when the other lady came into your room?”

“It was SO cool. She grabbed a shotgun and BANG! BANG! Shot the ghost twice, but nothing touched it. Then she pulled out this huge knife and swung at it, got it right across the stomach too.  She’s my hero, but it went back in my closet, and it took my bear.” Donnie was so animated when he told the story that Dean found himself laughing at the boy’s explanation. “When she shot the gun and the ghost backed away, I ducked down and hid under the bed.  It tried to grab the lady but she was like Superman and went right after it.”

“Yeah, she is like Superman, isn’t she?” Dean smiled.  “So look, kid…Donnie, it looks like the lady scared it away when she hit it with the knife.  You should be okay if you want to sleep in your room again.”

“Really?”  He asked as the two of them headed off down the hall.  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam and Mrs. Miller stood and met them.  “Mom, he said I could sleep in my room again.”

“It looks like whoever it was might have been injured by the suspect we have in custody.”  Dean explained. “If that’s the case, there’s little to no chance that they will come anywhere near this house again.”

“Thank you both.”  She grinned as they walked towards the door.

“Don’t be afraid to get in contact with us if something should come up, or if you happen to remember anything else.”  Sam handed her a card with his cell phone number on it and the two of them walked out the door. He glanced at Dean as they got into the car.  “So what do you think? Stake out?”

“I think Beth is Superman.”  Dean’s grin widened. “That kid gave a pretty detailed description of what she did to it, but the fact that nothing stopped it might mean it’ll try again.”

“Unless we find it first.”

“Exactly.”  He swung the car around and headed back towards the motel.  

 

The Mustang was sitting right outside Beth’s door when they arrived, and while Sam headed for their room, Dean went straight for hers.  Both men stopped just before opening each door and Dean gave him a wink, as he disappeared into Beth’s room. Sam sighed, rolled his eyes and entered a dark room six, shutting the door behind him.

Dean listened as he stood next to the small table in the room.  He could hear the shower, see the steam through the open door and looked down at the pile of clothing at the end of the bed.  His grin widened as he reached down and using one finger, looped it through the strap, to pick the lacy bra up from the ground. 

Just as he stood up straight, he could feel eyes on him, just beyond the bra and looked at the towel-clad woman resting against the bathroom door jamb.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not your size.”  She stated sarcastically as he dropped it back in the pile on the floor.  “What did you find out at the house?”

“Ah...” he started, watching as she bent down to rustle through the drawers, the towel just long enough to keep everything covered, and once again he met her eyes. Nervously, he rubbed his hands on his pant legs as he sat down on the edge of the closest twin-sized bed, but it wasn’t because she made him edgy, totally the opposite.  She made him want to touch her. “Well, according to the kid the ghost wanted him to come with her. It said that they could share the toy and apparently, he thinks you’re a superhero.”

“What?”  She laughed. “That’s a first.”  She moved into the bathroom with her clothes and came out with jeans and a tank-top on, but watched as Dean threw wanting glances her way.  “God, the last time I saw that look on your face, I think it was just before your first attempt to touch my boobs.”

“It was not.”  He defended quickly and studied her.  “I just…I don’t know what to do with myself.  You’re here, I never thought I would see you again, but Beth, people around me die.”

“How long did you say it's been, fifteen years?”  She stood not more than two feet from him and he stared up, into her blue eyes.  “If that shifter didn’t kill me, Dean, being near you isn’t going to change that.”

“You’d be surprised how fast they drop off.”  He growled, shied away, and suddenly turned, gently stroking his hands up to her shoulders.  Those hands traveled to rest gently on her cheek and he leaned in brushing his lips ever so softly against hers. Beth rested one hand against his chest as his lips pressed harder and she felt herself giving in.  It was Dean, she thought, how could she not.

She pushed him back on the bed, but only enough so that she could straddle his lap to get down at his eye level and heard him breathe in deeply.  He released her from the kiss but just slightly, feeling the heat as her body pressed against his. He braced himself by stretching one arm out behind him and leaned back away from her, the fingers of the other hand traveled down the line of her V-neck.  “Beth, please.”

“I’m not a little girl, I’m not going to break.”  She leaned in and whispered in his ear. 

Dean rolled his eyes, wanting desperately to give in to the feeling of having her so close.  She placed a hand on his cheek, letting the feel of the stubble caress against the palm of her hand and slowly she leaned down, placing her lips against his forehead.  With that small gesture, he didn’t hold back and wrapped his arms around her. He swallowed hard as her lips traveled down close to his ear, her warm breath blew against him, and his body’s natural reaction was to lean into it.

She stopped just shy of his lips and pulled back, their eyes mere inches from each other.  He could feel her breath against his, the warmth so close, and he could no longer resist. Dean leaned towards her, placed one hand behind her head and the other around her waist, pulling her hips closer to his as his lips grazed hers with the softest of touches. He could taste her, feel her and he knew that there was no way he was going to be able to stop.

The kiss deepened as they both became ensnared in the passion of this embrace.  He wanted to feel her skin. His hands slipped beneath the bottom of her shirt, gripping at her waist, and his fingers spanned outward, reaching in all directions, slowly moving up, until the tip of his thumb was just under the line of her bra.

That was when the door opened and Sam came busting in.  “Dean!”

Quickly, his hands moved, as Beth pulled the fabric down and turned her smiling face in the opposite direction of the man in the middle of the room.  Dean, on the other hand, held his eyes closed, with his arms still wrapped tightly around her and slowly opened them to look annoyingly at his younger brother.

“I’m…” Sam started, “sorry, listen this can’t wait.”

“I figured,” Dean smiled, and glanced at Beth, “but you’ll have to at least give me a minute.”

It took Sam just about that long to figure out why his brother was asking.  “Oh! Um, okay, I’ll be back in a minute.” And with that, he made a hasty exit out of the room.

Beth sat back, and smiled at the man under her.  “I can see that this is going to be just like old times.”  

Dean sighed as she slipped off of his lap.  “Yeah, but it’s a little more difficult to hide from a grown man than it was some teenage pain in the ass.”

“I don’t know, I think Sam knew more than he was letting on.”  Beth grabbed a tee-shirt and pulled it over her head, which was met with a look of disappointment from Dean. “I think it’s why he doesn’t remember.” Dean ran a hand down his face, as if it would help erase the past.  “Don’t worry, it’s not forever.”

“Yeah, you say that now, just wait until he finds out.”  He mumbled and adjusted himself as he flopped back on the bed.  “So, what do you think Sammy found?”

“I don’t know,” Beth laughed, “if you’re deflated enough, I’m sure we could let him in and find out.”

Dean grabbed the closest object, a hard motel pillow and tossed it at her, missing by an inch.  “Deflated,” he grumbled under his breath as he heard the door open again. 

Sam walked in once more, a little red in the cheeks but he set the laptop down and got right to the point, or at least as much as he could with Dean still lying on the bed.  “So,” he started as he sat down and cleared his throat, “I was doing more research on Beth’s journal and I found some interesting things, mostly through the archives.”

“You downloaded the archives?”  Dean questioned and watched as Sam gave him a little shrug. “How?”

“I scanned them in, it’s not important.”  He brushed off the inquiries as best as he could before continuing.  “Before they branched off to the United States, the British Men of Letters came across the same thing we have going on here, but it was dated back before the colonies settled in the Massachusetts Bay area.  A young girl had taken ill and was thought to be possessed, so they did whatever they could to get rid of it. Exorcism, Druid priests, nothing helped so the organization stepped in and brought a Demonologist with them.  They found out that several weeks before the girl became afflicted with whatever the hell she had, she was given a doll from an elderly woman on the street.”

“So some parent let their kid just take a doll from a complete stranger?”  

“It was a different time, Dean, it’s not like they had people snatching kids up in creepy white horse-drawn carriages.” Beth chuckled, and watched as Dean reached for another pillow.

“Guys, seriously.”  Sam intervened. Beth sat back against the dresser as she continued to smile at Dean.  “They attempted to hunt down the woman but weren’t able to find anyone matching her description at all.”

“London is a pretty big city, even back then. It doesn’t surprise me that they couldn’t find her.”

“That’s not what I’m getting at.”  He turned his laptop so she could see the picture that was sketched of some woman.  “This is why I brought it up. When asked to describe who gave her daughter the doll, this is the description she gave.”  Beth stepped closer, staring at the drawing of the exact same spirit that was in her journal. “According to them, it’s didn’t just possess Emmeline’s body, it turned her into whatever IT is.”

“Does it say how to kill it?” Dean spoke up, sitting upright on the bed.

“Apparently once you find where it lives, you have to find the original doll and like other spirits salt and burn it, for the most part.”  Sam shrugged.

“For the most part?”

“It gets a little sketchy about the actual details, but I believe you have to also need a piece of something from her home as well.”

“Great, a three-hundred-year-old ghost and her hometown is under water,” Dean gruffed, “do the archives tell you how we can find something that belongs to her, in a place that we don’t even know exists?”

“Actually, I think I found out where she’s stashing things.” Beth spoke up, both boys turned to look at her.  “That’s where I was today. Barnes Cemetery in Pelham is a small family plot just about two miles from the Reservoir. All historical accounts say that it’s the resting place of Emmeline’s surviving family members.” She watched as they stared, waiting for some sort of relevant information.  “In the receiving vault there’s a hole in one of the walls that leads under the cemetery and comes out just east of the stone wall, inside a man-made cellar hole, or at least I think it’s a cellar hole. Either way, I think that’s where it’s stashing things. We just have to get in.”

“A cemetery, are you kidding me?”  

“With an underground cave.”  She smiled as if watching him squirm was the highlight of her day.

“Okay, so Sammy, you stake out the Miller’s place and Beth and I will take the cemetery.”  Sam nodded but watched as Beth crossed her arms.

“I don’t need a protector, Dean.”

“I didn’t say I was being one, I just said I was going with you.”

“Would you two like me to leave so you can have your little lover’s spat in peace.”  Sam suggested, trying to keep his laughter in.

“No!” Both answered in unison. 

“This is what we’re going to do, and that’s final.”  Dean stood from the bed and walked straight out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Hm,” Beth glanced at Sam, “I don’t remember him being so intense.”

“Oh, he’s always been intense.” Sam smiled.  “But he gets more so when it’s someone he cares about.  He thought he lost you once, Beth, he’s not going to let you out of his sight again.”

“I’m going to guess that the whole underground cave deal doesn’t help the situation either, right?”

“That would be my guess.”

“Well, let’s get a little sleep and then we’ll shoot out and get this thing done.”  She walked over to the bed Dean had just been on and curled up with a pillow, watching Sam pack up his laptop.  “Hey Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t remember, do you?”  The question had him stop for a moment before he gave a slight shake of his head.  “It’s probably better that way.”

“Sleep tight, Beth.”  He whispered and closed the door behind him.

She was on the verge, in that veil between waking and sleep, when she felt the weight on the bed behind her.  She knew who it was, even after all the years between them, that familiar feeling as he pushed his body up against hers, pulling her back towards him and wrapped his arms around her. The way he smelled, even after all this time was still recognizable, and with a deep breath, just to take in his scent, she let the dreams take over, at least for a little while.

It was what he had always done when they were near, he would protect her.  Both ears listening for Sam, even when John was around, and both eyes on Beth.  Dean would never sleep when they were together, he would hold her, just like he was now. With his face buried against the back of her neck, the feel of her hair and the perfume of her skin were still the same, even the feel of her body against his was right. But that was only after what happened with Sam.  He just wished his brother could remember so he could deal with the aftermath and get it over with, but for now, he was going to protect her the best he could.

Her hand slipped under his and her small fingers, as fierce and mighty as they were, intertwined between them, and she squeezed, making sure that he was there with her.  Dean smiled, but the fear in his gut of losing her again wouldn’t subside. He had an ache for happiness, but also the knowledge that no one he had ever loved had survived him unscathed. 

 

It wasn’t much before dusk, maybe an hour or two, when a knock on the door made Beth jump.  Her instant reaction: pull Dean closer, as instinct had her going for the gun under the pillow.

“Relax,” his warm breath brushed against her ear as she felt his weight shift, and she released the handle of the gun.  “It’s just Sammy.”

“I brought coffee.”  Sam smiled as he placed the cardboard tray down on the dresser.

“My new hero.”  Beth teased, as she turned over on the mattress, and Dean glanced back at her while he slipped off the bed.  

After a few minutes of silent coffee worship, the brothers watched as Beth began to pack as much things as she could into a bag.

“What are you bringing?  The whole house?” Dean smirked and watched as she picked up the shotgun.

“Salt shells, not that it did a damn thing before, but since we’re getting close to where it hides, it might do some damage.  Silver Bowie, just in case there’s any possibility that some part of it is a shifter. Colt loaded with silver bullets,” she said, smiling amorously at the weapon before slipping it in the back of her jeans, “because, well, I like it.”  She listed everything off as she went on to toss in a few flashlights, some rock salt and an odd looking piece of cloth, a dark sheepskin with different shapes etched into it.

“Wait,” Sam spoke up before the bag was zippered.  “What was that?”

“What,” she pulled it back out, “this?”  Opening the cloth completely the boys could make out the different runes and symbols from all different cultures.  “I got it from some woman named Bela a long time ago, after I saved her ass from a werewolf. Apparently she was trying to see if she could get it’s teeth… not sure what she wanted with them, never asked, but she said this would hide you from anything unholy.  It’s worked a couple times, so I just take it with me.”

“Bela Talbot?”  

“Yeah, why?”  

“She stole a couple things from us a while back.”  Dean replied with the same irritated look on his face that she remembered from the times that Sam had gotten on his nerves.  “The only woman I ever wanted to strangle.”

Beth laughed.  “It doesn’t surprise me if she rubbed you the wrong way, she seemed to have a knack for that.  The werewolves didn’t like her either.” Beth sat down and glanced back and forth between them. “So let’s get our game plan in order.  Sam’s staking out the Miller’s tonight,” she focused on him, “make sure you’re packing and prepared for anything, I don’t think it will be vulnerable until we get close enough to the doll.” She turned to Dean.  “I guess you’re stuck with me, Cowboy, but listen don’t go jumping headlong into the line of fire just to save my ass, or I’ll shoot you myself.”

“Yes, ma'am.”  Dean grinned.

 

Sam idled up in the Impala and parked across the street from the large, two-story home that he had been in earlier that day.  He had made notes of every entrance and where Donnie’s bedroom was in regards to the layout of the house. All he had to do was wait for something to happen.  He just hoped that Beth and Dean were having more luck than he was.

 

Dean moved the Mustang down the bumpy grass drive straight to the cemetery gate.  He cocked his head, giving it a once over in the light of the car’s high beams.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”  He mumbled, which only got a grin from Beth and a total lack of sympathy from her.  “Why do they always put this stuff in caves, and on top of that, in a damn cemetery?”

“You’re not chicken shit are you, Dean?”  She laughed, collecting her bag. 

“Did you bring me here to help, or just be a smartass?”  He countered.

“Um,” she glanced around a bit then stared at him with a smile. “A bit of both.”

He closed the door and grabbed his own pack while shaking his head.  “Come on, let’s get this done and over with before I decide to tie you to one of the stones and let it eat you.”

The receiving vault wasn’t more than ten feet from the car, so that was where they headed first.  The heavy door was their only obstacle but with both of them pulling from the outside, they were able to get it open, just enough so that Beth could shimmy her way through.  On the other side, in the cool darkness of the stone walls, she cracked three emergency sticks, lighting the place up while she worked to get Dean through. She planted her feet firmly on the slab floor and pressed all of her weight against the door. She watched his knuckles turn white as he pulled as hard as he could, opening it only three more inches before both leaned against the door.

“You’re just going to have to squeeze your big head in through the opening.” Beth laughed as she tried to catch her breath.  

“Big head.”  Dean said sarcastically.  “When we’re done here, I’ll show you a big…”

“Shh!”  Beth cut him off quickly and listened to the faint noise that was coming from the opening in the  corner of the vault. It sounded a lot like scratching, something with long nails against the rocks and the sound was getting louder.  “I take it back, just get in here.”

Dean heard the need in her voice and tossed the bags through the door, turned sideways and shimmied in only so far before he got stuck. Beth looked at him, but her flashlight was trained on the hole.  She gave him a questioning look as he shifted around like he was caught on something. He then brought his right hand over his head, fingers wrapped around the handle of the Colt, and was able to move his way through the door.  He pushed her behind him as he crouched down to look into the darkness.

His phone vibrated just as he got close enough to hear the approaching danger, which made him jump back and land hard against his tailbone.  With a roll of his eyes, he grabbed the phone and looked at the text.

“It’s from Sam.” He whispered.  “There’s something going on at the Miller’s place.”

“Tell him to be careful.” He looked at her, then down at the phone, handing it off.  “Right.”

Dean turned back towards the opening, his light focused on the darkness just as a rat scurried out towards them.  He jumped backwards, once more, this time toppling over Beth, basically pinning her beneath him. With a smile on her face, she looked into his eyes and kissed his nose.

“I never knew you were such a romantic,” she laughed and watched him roll his eyes as he shifted his weight and sat up.  “We’re going to have to go down there.”

“I know.” He said softly, but she could tell that it wasn’t just the tunnel that he was worried about.  Beth placed her hand on his cheek. 

“You’re not going to lose me this time.”  She whispered, watching him take a deep breath in.  “Let’s do this, kill the bitch and get out of here.”

“Amen to that.”  He smiled and the two of them began the slow crawl into the hole in the wall.  Dean went first, his flashlight leading the way and it felt like they had gone on for more than twenty minutes before he suddenly stopped.  Beth hit his boot with her flashlight. “We’ve hit a cavern.” 

He turned over the best he could, looking for a safe way out of the passage, and finally found a vine that he could grab onto to pull himself out.  His feet hit the ground about four feet below the opening. Before helping Beth down, he canvassed the area with his light. She took his hand, and let him pull her from the dirt.  

The cavern was just tall enough for Dean to stand up in, even though it meant that there were roots hitting him in the forehead. It was large enough so that the flashlight beams disappeared into a thick darkness but it was definitely something that was man-made.  Beth stepped off towards the right while Dean surveyed the scene. She aimed her light along the walls, closest to the floors and made her way around the irregularly shaped room.

Dean glanced over at her, as she bent down at the waist and for a moment, he caught himself staring at her backside, before he shook it off and followed her.  “Hey, don’t go wandering.”

It was about the time that he caught up that she had found what she was looking for, a mound of old toys against the dirt wall, some of them placed on dug-out, makeshift shelves.  

“Jackpot.”  

“Now what?  We still have to find the one that belongs to it.” Beth kneeled down, after staring for a moment at the ones on the wall.

“It’s buried.”  She replied, looking at the pile beneath her.  “Under all of these, it has got to be down there.”

“So let’s just burn them all.”  She watched as he flicked open the lighter.

“No,” she snapped, shutting it quickly. “If all the research is right, these dolls contain the souls of its victims. You burn them there is no telling where the souls go after they are released, or exactly how pissed off they’re going to be.”

“Good point.”  He put the lighter back in his pocket, dropped the bags on the floor next to her and knelt down.  “Let’s get digging.”

 

Sam tried to keep his eyes locked on the house, there was nothing else he could do.  The last reply from Dean and Beth was over an hour ago. He hated that his brother had gone in, feelings first with this one.  Not that he didn’t trust Beth, but this case was just one of the things he couldn’t wrap his head around. As his mind went in twenty directions, the lights that were on in the house started to flicker.  It was just then, as the lights went out completely that the cell phone in his pocket vibrated.

Quickly, he reached for two things, the machete by his side and the cellphone on his lap.  With a quick slide of his finger, he could hear the boy screaming in the background and Mrs. Miller’s panicking voice.

“Sam, help!  It’s come back!”  And then there was silence.

That was all he needed to sprint towards the house.  The door was locked, and there was no time to pick it so with two swift, solid kicks, the large wooden door broke open.  With his gun in hand, the knife clipped to his belt and the flask of Holy Water dangling on a chain between his fingers, Sam made his way up the stairs.  

In Donnie’s room, the child stood facing the spirit, standing up as tall as he could, with as much strength to protect his mother as he could muster. Sam could see, from peeking his head around the corner, that Donnie was losing the battle.

He watched the boy outstretch his hand, and his mother screaming in terror, as she sat pinned by an unseen force against the wall.  The long, bony fingers of the spirit reached out towards Donnie as he was inching closer to it, the bear in the grasp of the monster’s other hand. It was then that Sam came around the corner, gun blazing and put it in his sites.

“HEY!”  He yelled, giving Donnie enough time to react and jump out of the way before he fired off three shots.  It did nothing to it except piss it off more. Sam tucked the gun away and pulled out the blade. He covered the iron-edged blade with the water in his hand and went in swinging.

The spirit dodged and weaved, as if it were a real person and knew just what kind of actions to take to avoid being hit, but there was one thing it didn’t count on.  Sam went right for the hand holding the bear and with one precise swing, chopped it off. The bear rolled as the spirit roared in anger, grabbing Sam by the jacket. It tossed him across the room, slamming him into the dresser and moved towards him, hovering over him as its eyes, or more precisely where it’s eyes used to be, began to glow a bright red. 

Sam was stuck, his weapons were either behind him or across the room and this thing wasn’t letting up.  He tried to reach, tried to get to the handle of the blade but it was much too far away. He turned his head to the side as the spirit crept closer, trying to catch his soul, a deep growl in the very heart of its evil.  Suddenly there was silence and Sam opened his eyes to see Donnie standing just to the left of the creature. The boy’s hands tightly wrapped around the handle of the blade, with the end of it resting deep into the side of the monster from his closet.  

The spirit roared and, as if pulled by a vacuum, was sucked back into the closet. The blade fell against Donnie’s toys, unable to pierce the wall.  Sam glanced up at the boy, who shook uncontrollably, and tried to catch his breath as he reached for his cellphone. Dean’s voice was scratchy at best but that wasn’t important, the message was.

“Dean, get out of there!  It’s coming back!” He warned before the line once again went dead. Donnie’s mother wrapped her arms around her boy as Sam crawled over.  “You did good, Donnie, you did really good.” He turned to Mrs. Miller and sighed. “I have to go, I have to help my brother finish this off.  Take him out of here, go somewhere public, with lots of people, even the police station if you have too.

“Thank you.”  She smiled up at him, but it wasn’t over yet, and all Sam could do was nod.  

He stood and walked over to the closest to collect the blade that the boy had bravely swung, and that was when he noticed the bear was missing. “Oh no.”

He ran out the door, gunned the Impala and headed towards the coordinates that Beth had given him before they went their separate ways.  It was going back to its lair and it had one empty vessel.

 

Beth watched as Dean’s face became filled with anxiety, not fear, but she knew that he was aware of the danger when this thing came back.  The two of them continued digging out the doll, bears and other toys that seemed to fill the five foot long space against the wall. They were in the middle of decades worth of possessions when they heard the first scream, like an air siren going off.  It was coming closer. 

Dean got every weapon ready for battle as Beth kept digging.  Porcelain dolls, Victorian era ones, some were so old they were brittle but she tried her hardest to keep them intact.  She almost had to bend over to reach the bottom of the hole.

“It’s not here.”  She mumbled as she reached into the dirt.

“What?”  Dean snapped as he glanced over at where she was.  

“I don’t see it, it’s not here.”

“Keep digging, the bitch is coming.”  Just then Dean felt something wrap around his foot in the darkness and he moved the light from the hole in the ground to where the spirit stood before him.  He was going to scream, but instead grabbed the shotgun and let off a blast of rock salt. Dean had made a circle of salt around Beth just before they started digging but it grabbed ahold of him and dragged him into the darkness.

“DEAN!”  She screamed, turning the flashlight to try and locate him in the dark.  Dean shot off another round, lighting up the room and she listened as he traded blows, as much as you could with a spirit that strong.

“Keep…” he yelled, “digging!” 

Beth turned back to the hole once more and pushed the dolls out of the way until she cleared most of the bottom of the pit.  She had almost given up hope when she felt something beneath her fingers, something rough and thick. With the flashlight by her side, she dug in with both hands and pulled out a leather wrapped object. Placing it by her side, she untied the old rope and opened it up to find a cornhusk doll perfectly preserved in a small cotton dress, with locks of blond hair. Emmeline’s hair. She had found it.  

It took her a moment to realize what she needed next and the bag was behind her.  She scooped up the doll and moved out of the circle to grab the salt, lighter fluid and Holy Water.

“Dean!”  She called out, wanting a response from him, needing one as she continued.

“Burn it!”  He answered.

She placed the doll in a small circle of salt, poured the lighter fluid and more of the rock salt on it then grabbed the lighter out of her pocket.  “Absolvo te a vinculo liberum ponam spiritum,” she chanted as she set the doll on fire. “Absolvo te a vinculo liberum ponam spiritum, Absolvo te a vinculo liberum ponam spiritum.”

She watched as it blazed before her but she could still hear the battle going on in the darkness.  Dean could see her, once the spirit had released him and he watched in horror as it moved in her direction, picking up the dingy bear.  He couldn’t move, couldn’t get to her as if It had pinned him to the floor with invisible ropes. 

Beth looked up as it came closer, her voice still chanting the words, as she sprinkled the water on it, but for a moment she stopped and remembered what Sam had said. They needed something from her home, something that tied her to the doll.  

“The leather.”  She whispered to herself as she left the doll burning and turned back to the hole where she grabbed the leather wrap.

“Beth!!!”  Dean screamed as he watched her disappear into the darkness.  “Get back in the circle!”

She returned just as the thing hovered above her head, and touched an edge of the leather down against the small blazing object.  It screeched as she set the leather ablaze, watching it as they both burned quickly and whispered softly in English. “I release you from your bond, I set your spirit free.”  The creature before her wiggled as it also seemed to set fire, releasing Dean from the hold it had on him. He was instantly by her side as they both watched it burn. “God rest your soul.”

With that, the creature exploded, shaking the cavern, loosening the dirt around them.  Dean tugged on Beth’s arm, moving her towards the opening on the other side of the cavern.  “We have to get out of here before it comes down on top of us.” Dean watched as she stared at the pile of dolls. “Beth, come on.”

She snapped out of her trance just as the walls started to come down and let Dean pull her out through the small hole in the wall, into the cellar opening and then out into the cool night air.  He continued to pull at her, as if she had no way of comprehending which way to go, and sat back against a tree, holding her tightly against him.

“All those souls.” She whispered sadly, but a rumble in the Earth made them both brace themselves, as a light illuminated the entrance of the chamber.  It became so bright that they had to shield their eyes and wait for it to pass. The rumble stopped, the light went dark but Beth continued to listen to the beat of his heart.  

“They’re free now.”  Dean whispered, as he relaxed under her, wrapping his arms tighter.  He placed his lips against her dirty hair and sighed.

“Dean!”  Sam’s voice called out from the silence.

“Over here, Sammy.”  He cried back, but it only came out in a soft groan, he didn’t have the energy for that.  

Sam rounded the corner from the main cemetery gates and made his way down the path to see a crumpled mound of rocks and dirt to his left, and Dean and Beth propped up against a tree to the right.  His brother opened his eyes only just a little, flashed him a quick grin and closed his eyes once more. Blood ran down from a cut above his eye and Sam could see the small gashes that covered his cheeks.  Sam’s chest pounded as he whispered a soft prayer of thanks that they were both safe.

The Copper Lantern, West Brookfield, Massachusetts

Dean dabbed at the cut above his eye, wincing, and backed away from the mirror.  Sam sat at the small table, typing away at the keys as Dean pulled a clean shirt on, over his head.  He pressed his ear against the wall that joined their room to Beth’s and listened as she moved around.

“She sees you doing that she’s either going to be pissed or call you a perv.”  Sam laughed.

“As long as she calls me something.”  He replied, sitting down on his bed. “You should have seen her in there, Sammy, she really was like Superman.”

“Superwoman.”

“Whatever,” he shook his head, “I’m not going to be able to let her out of my sight again.”  He confessed as he locked eyes with his brother. 

“I know you won’t Dean, that’s just who you are, but is she going to understand that?”

“I don’t know, I guess we’ll see.”

“See what?”  Beth’s voice interrupted as she walked through the door with wet hair and clean clothing.  She sat down next to Dean on the bed and glanced back and forth between them. “What is up with you two?”

“How did you know to burn the leather?”  Dean questioned, not that he didn’t already know, but he needed to get off the topic that he and Sam were on before she walked in.

“When I opened it, I thought I saw something written on it, but I grabbed the doll so fast that I didn’t take it with me.”  She looked down at her hands and shook her head. “It had you, I thought there was no way I was going to be in time to save you.  Burning the doll wasn’t working and then I remembered what Sam said, something from her home. In the journal, her father was a tanner, and that made me think of the leather.  It was an engraved piece of a leather papoose, one used by Emmeline to hold her dolls.” Dean let out a long breath and lay back on the bed with his legs still hanging off. Beth smiled and looked at Sam who was staring at his computer. “What do you have Sam?”

“Nothing, I was just looking further into the legend from London, and it makes me wonder if maybe they had brought it with them when they came over.”  He shrugged.

“Does it matter?”  Dean asked quietly, his arms over his eyes.  “Can’t we just be done with the damn creepy dolls already?”

“How about breakfast then?”  Sam pulled up the menu from the Ware Café online and looked over what they had to offer. When he glanced up at the two to tell them, he smiled, Beth was curled up against Dean, her head on his arm, and a hand on his chest, both sound asleep.  “I guess I’m going alone.”

Sam stood, grabbed the keys to the Impala, and headed out of the room, locking the door behind him.

 


	2. There's nothing to fear but Waffles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The small town of Bartlett, NH is being terrorized by something not of this world, it's up to Sam, Dean, and Beth to figure it out.

“There’s nothing to fear but waffles.”

SPN Fanfic

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW

 

THEN

The clouds rolled in overhead, darkening the sky, blocking out the light of the sun.  Lightning flashed, but the patrons of Elwell’s Diner didn’t seem to notice. With a loud crackle of thunder came an influx of birds, large black birds that circled the town as the rain began to fall.  They perched in trees, on power lines and on rooftops.

The diner was packed, every seat full, waitresses scurried from behind the counter to where people were seated or to the cash register to say goodbye to those who were cashing out.  The atmosphere seemed normal, just like any typical small town where everyone knew everyone else. If they didn’t know you, if you were just traveling through, you didn’t stay a stranger for long.

Dustin James sat with his wife and their two young daughters in a corner booth. They all watched with glee as Stephanie, the pretty brunette waitress, dressed in a fifties diner outfit, set the plates down in front of each person. As the girls dug right in, Lori, Dustin’s wife whispered for each of them to take their time or they would get a stomach ache. Dustin smiled, just happy to have such a perfect family, until he looked down at his plate.

The lights flickered for a moment, which received a gasp from the other patrons in the business who hoped this sudden storm wouldn’t knock out the power completely because a lot of them were still waiting on their food.  Dustin didn’t say a thing, he just stared.

The three-stack of waffles was covered in wild blueberries, topped with two large strawberries that were held down by a toothpick.  Syrup oozed off the edges, but the more Dustin looked, the stranger the breakfast food became. Blueberries, nestled into the closest squares of the concoction became beady eyes that stared him down.  He watched as they turned in his direction and his own eyes grew wide with fear.

His heart beat wildly as he tried to hear his wife’s voice above the pounding of his own blood in his ears but the waffles wouldn’t let him go.  As his fear grew, so did the waffles, taking over the plate. Gooey amber liquid spilled from the sides. Suddenly the top and middle of the three-bread stack slightly opened, creating what looked like a mouth, causing Dustin to start shivering. He couldn’t look away, couldn’t take his eyes off of the monstrosity that formed before him.

Suddenly, as if things couldn't get any stranger, sharp pointed objects exploded out of the opening, creating the illusion of razor-sharp teeth.  Dustin started screaming and tried to back away but the waffle monster leapt forward, crunching it’s sharp wooden teeth down upon his throat.

He could hear his wife screaming as they pierced his skin, pulling and poking every inch, until it latched on completely and ripped the flesh from his muscle, opening a wide gash across his jugular. His head flopped forward, landing squarely on the plate before him.  Within moments, the place cleared out, leaving just Dustin and the unassuming stack of waffles that sat on a plate soaked with blood and covered in syrup.

NOW

Beth lay on a blanket on a small sandy part of Lake Winnipesaukee, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.  The sun was shining and they had decided that it was time to take a small break from the road. Sam leaned against the hood of the car, a cold beer in hand, enjoying the serene beauty of the calm lake that seemed to stretch on for miles.  Dean stood along the shoreline, skipping small pebbles across the water’s surface. His usual attire was now just jeans and a tee-shirt, letting his body soak up the heat. But he was a road warrior, and longed for the vibration of the Impala under him, so quickly he turned and walked up the beach towards his brother.

He stopped just a few feet from Beth, who’s black tank top was tucked up under her bra, exposing her belly.  He glanced around to see if anyone was watching and cocked his head to the side, taking in the curve of her shape. His gaze was drawn down to her unbuttoned jeans that exposed the top of her panties to get some sun on her stomach.  He stared for several minutes before he trailed his eyes back up to her face and noticed her watching him with one eye opened.

“Why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer?”  She teased and watched as he took out his phone and quickly snapped a picture. Beth rolled her eyes as he stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

“What are you trying to do?”  He teased, with a smile. “Any whiter and we could use you as a distress signal.” He stuck his tongue out at her.

“Screw you, Winchester!”  Beth yelled and raised her arm, flipping him off as he walked away.

Sam laughed as Dean approached the car then handed his older brother a beer.  “You shouldn’t be so mean to her.”

“I wasn’t being mean,” Dean smiled, giving him a crooked sly grin.  “I was admiring, but I couldn’t let her know that, she’s got a big head already.”

“Why don’t you two just have sex and get it over with already, you’ve been flirting around it for the past two weeks.”  Sam laughed and watched as his brother shrugged, taking a swig from the bottle.

“We’re not flirting around anything.” Dean snapped defensively, giving his brother an angry look.  “Beth and I, it wouldn’t work.” He stopped and thought for a moment. “I mean it would  _ work _ , she’s a beautiful woman but we’re… we are not... it’s just not the right time.”  Dean found himself tripping over his own words. “It’s…just not…”

“I get it, Dean.”  He laughed. “Don’t hurt yourself.” 

“I’m not the right kind of guy for her, Sammy.”  Dean’s smile turned to seriousness as he watched her sunbathing down the shore.  She was swinging her arms to the beat of the music that blared through her earbuds. “She’s too special for me to go and screw it up.”

“You care about each other, how could you screw it up?”

“I’m not…available,” Dean sighed, and turned away from him, which had Sam only more curious about just what his brother was getting at.  Dean glanced back at him and shrugged. “Emotionally, you know, I’m just not emotionally in the right place to give her what she needs.”

“Sex?”  Sam laughed.

“Commitment.”  He said soberly.  “She should have someone who could give her some kind of commitment.”

“The C word, Dean, when has she ever used the C word anywhere around either of us?”

“She doesn’t have to.”  With that Dean moved away from him, and slipped into the driver’s seat of the Impala.

For a moment Sam stood stunned. Dean had never cared about anyone else’s feelings on commitment before.  He certainly knew that even if Dean longed for a life of normalcy, a committed relationship was out of the question.  Dean was a damaged man, more so than Sam himself but there was still something in his brother’s words that had Sam questioning the whole conversation.  

The cell phone vibrated against the keys in his pocket and Sam reached in quickly to look at it. Sliding his finger across the touchscreen, he placed the phone to his ear.  

“Yeah?”  He asked.  He could barely make out the words of the person calling, but they mentioned names that he wouldn’t forget and a small town in upstate New Hampshire called Bartlett.  Sam made out other words, something about people being afraid, and suicides. A storm had brought in fear, they needed help. “Okay,” Sam shouted, catching Beth’s attention, “okay, we’ll be up as soon as we can.”

By the time he hung up the phone, Beth stood beside him, her shirt pulled down, but it was the action of buttoning her jeans that caught him for a moment.  She smiled and snapped her fingers, triggering the response for him to move his eyes back toward her face. She could see the blush rise in his cheeks as she moved passed him, gently brushing her fingers over the top of his hand.

She wasn’t playing a game, at least she didn’t think so, but she was trying to trigger something in him.  He still didn’t remember their time in New York before he left for Stanford. She couldn’t tell him, she just had to let him remember, unfortunately, time was getting short as the anniversary of her father’s death drew nearer.

Once she was comfortable in the back seat of the Impala, she bunched up some blankets against the door, buckled the lap belt over her hips and positioned herself to watch Sam.  Her Mustang was safe in storage and she had agreed weeks ago to travel with the boys until something else took her mind off of the upcoming event. She wasn’t really fond of all of her possessions being locked in the trunk, but the Devil’s Trap painted on the underside of the lid made her feel a little safer.

Dean glanced back in the mirror at her as she stared at his brother, he wanted so badly to be what she needed but he couldn’t do that. Over the last few weeks, since that first job in Ware, the guilt he held was just too much and he couldn’t bring himself to try anything with her, no matter how much he wanted to finish what they started.

“Ugh, this silence is killing me.” Beth grumbled from the backseat.  “Sam, where are we going?”

Sam turned a bit in his seat so she could hear him more clearly, since Dean’s music blared from the front speakers. “Bartlett, a small town upstate.  Apparently there has been some freak accidents going on that have caught the attention of a hunter in northern Vermont, but he’s unable to make it over there to figure out what’s going on.”  Sam answered and pulled out his cell. She watched as his fingers moved over the keyboard quickly and decided that gazing out the back window would be a better plan. “According to the local news, it started yesterday morning, after lightning struck one of clock towers in town.”

“Hey, McFly, do you think it’s one of those “Back to the Future” things?”  Dean smiled, trying to break the tension in the car.

“No, Dean,” Sam frowned, “I don’t, but I definitely think we’re working with our kind of monsters.”

“Why?”

“The first death was at the diner in town. A woman said her husband was freaking out about his waffles and then just slit his own throat.”  

“Attack of the Killer Carbs.”  Beth mumbled to herself. Sam turned more in his seat and looked at her, his brow creased in a “what is your problem” kind of stare.  She stared back and made a face. “What?”

“Anyway, they also saw an influx of birds that night, just after the storm started.  They’re everywhere and it’s not their normal migration pattern so even the environmentalists aren’t sure what’s going on.”

“So, one guy goes psychotic and they think it’s one of our kind of problems?”  Dean scratched his head as he watched the road.

“Not just one guy.  Apparently in the last twenty-four hours, three other people have died.  One man shot up his house running from a clown, or so he believed. He was found dead later, in his tool shed, of an apparent heart attack. The second article was of a woman who jumped off of a three-story building because, from what they could make of her rantings on the security video, she was being chased by a giant spider.”  Sam pushed the screen up once more and stopped. “Oddly enough, the last one makes some sense. A guy was found with a gash in his throat, completely drained of blood. Onlookers say he was seen running out of a vampire movie at the local theater.”

“So, vampires?”  Dean questioned, giving a little bit of a shrug.  “Easy enough, off with their heads.”

“That doesn’t explain the “Killer Clown from Outer Space” or “ Arachnophobia”.”  Beth piped up, putting in her two cents. Both boys glared at her in the mirror. She was casually playing with her fingernails.  “No, they all died because of something they feared, not that I will ever understand what is so scary about waffles, but the birds…”

Sam listened to her talk to herself as if it were her way of sorting out the problem.  Dean gave his brother a quick flash of his green eyes then went back to watching the road as Sam faced forward, but continued to watch her in the mirror.  He couldn’t shake the feeling that there should be something he knew about her, something more than either she or Dean had explained, but he couldn’t pull it out from the back of his mind.  

He had watched the interaction between Dean and Beth with a certain curiosity.  Their touchy-feely way aggravated him, no that wasn’t quite the word he was looking for.  Jealous would have been a better word to describe what was going on. He was jealous of their playful banter, the way he stroked her hair and even when he happened to walk in on them sleeping.  There was never any kissing, or any sexual exchange between them, except on that first case, but it made that monster inside him rear its ugly head to see them together.

Beth stopped fidgeting and peered up into the rear-view mirror catching Sam’s ever changing eyes.  She watched as his jaw line clenched and as much as he wanted to turn away, he didn’t break her gaze.  Dean’s not so gentle swat of his arm was the only thing that broke the connection. Sam turned to his brother and gave him a dirty look, but Dean only smirked.

 

Bartlett, New Hampshire

 

“Looks like we made it.”  He announced and gestured out the windshield.  Just ahead was the “Welcome to Bartlett” sign and not half a mile past that were black looming thunderclouds, complete with torrential downpours.  “Let’s find a place to stay first then Sam and I can check in with the local authorities.”

“Oh, and what am I supposed to do, sit on my ass and look pretty?”  Beth pouted.

“What? Are you on the rag? You’re in an awful pissy mood lately.” Dean tagged back, but Sam could still hear the playfulness in his voice.

“What if I was?  Does that make me any less of a hunter?”  She sat forward, her voice full of fake seduction and propped herself in between them. Sam watched as she leaned in towards Dean’s ear.  He felt that same jealous feeling rise up within him. “Wanna earn your wings?”

“You are one SICK bitch!”  Dean snapped and watched as Beth grinned widely.  “Sit your ass back before we get pulled over.”

“Sam,” Beth whispered, which sent a shiver through him at the sound of her saying his name.  “Slap your brother for me, he’s being a dick.”

He didn’t reply, in fact, he couldn’t even find the words to join in on the conversation but he felt goosebumps rise on his arm as her lips passed gently over the curve of his ear.  Instantly, he was uncomfortable, not with her, but just in his position so he shifted his hips to the left with little relief. Beth touched his hair with her fingers as she sat back down.

Was she teasing him on purpose to get a rise out of Dean?  What was going on in her mind that would make her touch him like that?  He was sure it was just an act to irritate his brother, but as he thought over the last fourteen days, he realized that she had been doing it all along.  Not at first, not until the first hunt was over, but after that, there were little light brushes when she walked by. Her hand would “accidentally” brush his leg when she was looking for some obscure thing that would have no reasonable explanation as to why it would be under his bed. Also, when she had to grab something off the table beside him, she would lean in from behind, pressing her chest against his back.  All of these and more and he was just now realizing it.

The Villager Motel was just up the road as they entered the town.  It was Beth’s turn to rent a room. Two beds and a cot, not that anyone ever slept on the thing, but it made for a good cover story.  It was while she was in the office, booking the room, and what looked like flirting with the heavy-set, bearded man behind the counter, that Sam turned to Dean.

“Can I ask you a question?” He started and noticed that Dean was smiling at the scene inside.

“Shoot.” He answered without looking over.

“What’s up with Beth?  I mean I know you said there was nothing there, but she’s very flirty with you.”  This caught Dean’s attention and he turned towards his brother.

“That’s not flirting.”  He watched Sam’s face, all of his emotions could be seen on the surface.  “What is your real question?”

He let out the deep breath he was holding and thought of the best way to put it. “She keeps touching me.”  Sam licked his lips, and watched Dean’s eyebrow raise, which made Sam just a little more nervous. “You two have this relationship where you’re always so close to each other but there’s times when she brushes against me, or whispers in my ear, and I just react…and it’s… it’s not in a way I would want to if you two are…something.  You know?”

“You react?”  Dean laughed, it wasn’t a giggle, or a grin or even a small snicker, it was an actual laugh.  “You get up for her?” Sam wanted to answer, wanted to go into some big reason why it wasn’t his intention but all he did was nod. Dean responded with “Hmm.”

“What do you mean “hmm”? Dean, this is important.” Dean chuckled again, and his smile reached his eyes.  “Why is this so funny?”

“I have three words for you Sam.”  Dean patted Sam on the chest as Beth sashayed towards the car, a show for the man inside, but it made Sam’s heart jump.  “Go for it.”

“What?”  Sam turned to look at his brother just as Beth slid in the backseat.

“Number four.”  She announced and rested the keys on Sam’s shoulder, her pinky finger touching his bare neck.  Dean chuckled again as Sam tried to breathe normally. “What the hell is so funny?”

“Sam wants pie.”  Dean replied a grin from ear to ear, which got a confused look from Beth as to why that would start the smile-fest that Dean was on but Sam’s head snapped in his direction, knowing exactly what his older brother meant.

 

They unpacked quietly, like they usually did, Sam at his bed and Dean at his as Beth spread her stuff out over the entire cot.  It wasn’t a messy, toss it everywhere spread, she had specific places for everything. Guns, salt, Holy Water, knives and her journal, all in precise order as if she were inventorying them and then she set out her clothes the same way.  Sam turned, having put everything of importance away, just as she bent over the cot to grab a shirt that had fallen behind it. He just stood there, admiring, until Dean tossed a pillow at him.

The smiled on the elder’s face made Sam blush but there was no noise, not even a snort from Dean as Sam cocked his head and raised his eyebrows while Dean began to gyrate his hips.  Beth grabbed the blanket and laid it flat on the surface of the cot, making it look as if it were nothing but a well-made bed. She placed her hands on her hips and turned towards the boys.  Dean straightened up as soon as she stopped so when she looked, he was as innocent as ever.

“So, studs, what’s your plan of attack?  The usual MO? Feds, Homeland?” Beth sat down at the chair beside the table and glanced back and forth between them.  Both brothers gave the same response, an unsure expression. “May I suggest US Wildlife Service?”

“Why?”  Dean asked with a bit of confusion.  “We’ve got four deaths, and the beginning of monsoon season.”

“The birds.”  She answered, sitting forward in the chair, her elbows against her knees.  “They came in the same time as the storm, like Sam said, and against their migration patterns, but none of them have left.  There’s something strange about that, don’t you think?”

“There’s something strange about you, that’s for sure.”  Dean mocked, clear enough for her to hear him. Beth flung the closest thing she had, an unopened bag of coffee grounds, which bounced off the side of his head.  He stood up and held out his arms. “Hey, I’m unarmed here.”

“In more ways than one.”  She retorted. Sam thought of his normal response to the situation, be the mature one, but this time he just smiled and let them go at it as he sifted through the bag for his badge. “So, back to the birds.”

“I think we could go for a lesson on those, right Sammy?” Dean’s comment grabbed his attention and he looked at his brother in disbelief. “And maybe she can throw  a little bit of the bees in with that.”

Beth rolled her eyes, stood and walked past Sam, casually placing a hand flat against his tight stomach, making him automatically tense up.  

“Don’t worry, Sam, I’ll kill him for you while he’s sleeping.”  She whispered, and her hand slid along his stomach as she continued on to the bathroom.  She yelled back before closing the door. “I know a good trick with a pillow and some pressure.”

Sam let out his breath, why did he feel like a teenager when he was near her?  He was so unsure of what to do next. Dean gave him such a wide grin that Sam couldn’t help but respond.

“Say a word, Dean, and I’ll take her up on her offer, I swear!”  Sam smiled. Dean waited to hear the shower spray on.

“Relax, she’s not going to hurt you.”  

“I’m so confused.” Sam sighed and sat down on the bed, his hands tussled up in his long hair.  “I don’t understand why I feel this way towards her, and I don’t understand her feelings towards me.  I feel like a freaking teenager with his first crush.” Dean’s breath caught for a moment, this was a good sign, but Sam continued.  “I still can’t get past the two of you though.” Sam glared up at him, with seriousness clouding his eyes. “Swear to me that there is nothing between you, swear on Bobby that if…and I mean if,  I made a move that I wouldn’t be stepping between anything.”

Dean sat down on the corner of the bed closest to his brother.  “Sam, I swear there is nothing between Beth and I except history.  What I feel for her is that I have to protect her, just as I need to protect you, that’s it, there’s nothing else.  What happened in Massachusetts, that was weakness. I needed to know, hell, I still question the very fact that she’s here, but at that point I needed to know she was real.  Do you want my permission, my consent? Guy, if you feel froggy, jump. You won’t be stepping between anything.”

Sam took a deep breath and nodded.  The two of them got ready to leave, dressed in regular clothing because they never figured US Wildlife Service would need suits. Dean made his way out to the Impala while Sam packed a few of his own essentials.  Beth walked out of the bathroom, having changed into some more comfortable clothes, and grabbed her laptop. Their eyes focused on one another as neither said a word, but Beth took it upon herself to sit down on his bed and fold her legs.

“When you get back, I think you and I need to talk.”  She spoke casually watching his facial expressions. The corner of his mouth turned up in a grin while he gazed down at the items he placed slowly in the bag.

“I agree that we need to clear some things up between the two of us.” He met her eyes once more, taking in the way that she licked her lips.  He gave a little shake of his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

“While you’re out, if you can, take some pictures of the birds and send them to me.”  She requested and watched him nod. “Sam,” he peered at her once more, “what’s going on?”

“Like you said, we need to talk.”  He grabbed the bag, and made an unconscious move by walking over to her side.  He placed his hand on the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head. “We won’t be long.”

Beth sat there for a moment, shocked at what had just happened and watched as he walked out the door.  Her eyes welled up with tears, as she reached around, touching the spot where his hand had sat. She didn’t want to cry, she certainly didn’t want to break down in sobs, but he didn’t understand what his gesture meant to her.

Beth cleared her throat and opened the laptop, snuggling back against his pillows.  Her fingers flew over the keys as she searched the internet.

 

Sam slid into the seat, happy that the rain had slowed to a drizzle.  He wasn’t looking forward to this investigation in the pouring rain. Dean watched Sam for a moment as he fussed with his seatbelt then turned away and pulled out of the parking spot.

“What is it?”  The older of the two questioned.

“I did something and I’m not even sure why I did it.”  Sam answered, this time taking it slow with the belt until it locked into place.  “She sat on my bed, said we needed to talk. I agreed and then I kissed her on the top of the head.”

“What?”  Dean questioned softly sounding just as shocked as Sam did.

“I put my hand on the back of her neck and kissed her on the head, just like that, no thinking.”  Sam’s eyes flashed in his brother’s direction. “Why would I do that? It seemed so natural.”

“Because it was.”  Dean spoke softly. Sam’s brows knit together in turmoil.  “You used to do that all the time to her when we were younger.”

“What?  Why? How come I don’t remember?”  He scowled. “If you know something, Dean, I wish you would just say it.”

Dean debated for a moment whether to say anything at all but he tapped twice on the steering wheel and decided to give Sam a push. “When we stayed with Paul, you and Beth were inseparable, especially towards the end. Remember I told you the last two weeks we had seen her was just before you and Dad had that fight?”

“Yeah.” 

“Okay, the time before was maybe two months prior.  You kept telling me that you couldn’t leave her, that something was wrong.”  Sam turned in the seat to face him fully. “Every time we walked out of that house, even if it was just to go to the car and come back, you would do just what you did to her in the room.  Kiss her on the top of the head.”

“Why?  If I knew something was wrong, why would we leave?” Dean looked defeated, he didn’t know how to tell Sam that John had insisted they leave that day.  He couldn’t bring himself to let his little brother in on the very secret that might have made him forget in the first place. “Dean?”

“We had to leave because we had a job to do.”  Dean put the car in park and opened the door. “I’m sorry, Sam, I wish I could tell you more but right now I can’t.”

Dean closed the door to the Impala and headed towards the sheriff’s department.  Sam took a moment to collect himself before stepping out into the mist and made his way in behind Dean, who was standing at the receptionist’s desk, flirting as usual.

“This is my partner, Sam Young.”  He pointed out. “Like I said, we’re from the US Wildlife Service, here about the bird problem that came in with the storm.”

“Mr…Cash…you said,” the woman behind the desk looked up over her glasses.  “Chief Alden is very busy. I’m sure there is someone over at the ranger station that can help you.”

“Hi,” Sam said and stepped forward, placing the badge on the table.  “As my partner pointed out, our credentials go above the ranger station, so if you don’t mind we would like to see Chief Alden as soon as possible.  You’re feathered problem is actually a very serious one.”

She looked at the badge, glanced at the two of them again and picked up the phone.  Sam looked at Dean, a tight-lipped frown on his face, and back at the receptionist. “She’ll be out momentarily if you would like to have a seat.”

The brothers walked to the closest chairs and waited for only a moment when a woman, not much older than they were, stepped out in a hurry.  Sam and Dean stood, greeting her by shaking her hand.

“Excuse the rushing, come right in,” she spoke up as she brought them through the door.  “My name is Shaina Alden, how can I help you gentlemen.”

“I understand you’ve had a recent rise in the population of birds since this storm moved in.”  Sam started.

“Not just any birds, Harpy Eagles, hundreds of them, but you’ll have to excuse me Mr. Young, we’ve had some recent deaths in town and it’s been devastating.  I’m not sure what the birds have to do with that.”

“Bird flu.”  Dean spoke up and watched as Sam threw him a quick glance.  “The virus is carried by large birds of prey and some of the symptoms described about the victims matched it’s side effects.”

“No, they weren’t victims, they were suicides.” 

“If what caused them to react the way they did was from the birds then unfortunately they are victims of this particular strain of bird flu.  The migration patterns of this Harpy Eagle have never crossed Bartlett before have they?”

“No,” Chief Alden whispered as she sat back and thought for a moment.  

“We believe that the arrival of the birds along with the sudden storm system that’s moving through might make this an airborne event.  Bird droppings carry the virus as the rain deteriorates it and the wind picks up the particles.” Sam himself couldn’t believe the story that had just flowed from his mouth.  “All we’re asking, Chief, is that until the rain passes, can a possible curfew or quarantine be placed in effect. People shouldn’t leave their homes without being fitted with an N-95 mask.”

“A tuberculosis mask?”

“Yes, ma'am, it’s the best defense.  Nothing gets in but you would have to have enough in stock so that each time someone left the house they would have to use a new one.  They would have to be fitted and given a supply.”

“We could have a hazmat bring it up from North Conway, that’s our closest hospital, but the clinic might have some that we could use until then.” She sighed.  “Thank you gentlemen, I’ll get right on it. I don’t mean to rush you but we had another call only minutes before you arrived. A young woman apparently thought she saw her departed mother and jumped into her pool.  It still had the winter cover on it. She got wrapped up in it and drowned, the poor thing.”

Both boys looked at each other for a moment and stood as the Chief did.  

“Can I ask a personal question about the girl?”  Sam waited for her to nod. “How long ago was her mother buried?”

“She wasn’t, she was cremated. Horrible car accident.”  She stated as she lead them down the hall, Dean raised an eyebrow in his brother’s direction.  “I will do everything in my power to make sure the hospital complies with the mask procedure.”

“Thank you Chief Alden.”  Sam shook her hand, and Dean followed suit before they walked out the door and stopped under the eaves.  With a sigh, Sam pulled out his phone and dialed Beth’s number.

“ _ Peterson.” _ She stated.

“So we’ve identified the birds, they’re eagles.” He watched as Dean moved over to the Impala and waited for him.  “Harpy Eagles.”

_ “Harpies.” _ Her voice was quiet, but she didn’t say anything else, he could just hear her breathing over the phone.   _ “Sam, get your brother and come back here now.  Don’t stop anywhere else. If the rain picks up while you’re outside,” _ she paused for a moment,  _ “please hurry. I’ll explain when you get here.” _

“We’re coming Beth.”  Sam answered and quickly got into the car.  “She’s worried, which means we should be worried. “

“What did she say?”  Dean inquired. Just as the words left his mouth, the wind and rain began to come down faster.

“Go!” Sam snapped. “Now!”

Dean backed the Impala out of the spot and took off down the road towards the motel.  The rain went back to a drizzle the further away they became. Sam sat watching it out the back window from where he was turned in his seat.

 

Just as he swung the car into a parking spot right outside the door of their room, Sam could see the rain closing in.  The pair raced in, Dean put his back against the door just as the wind slammed it from the other side. Beth, who looked as if she had been pacing along the furthest wall, rushed up to Sam and wrapped her arms around him. Her ear was just high enough to press against the beat of his heart.  He closed his eyes as she held him tightly, then gently let him go. She did the same to Dean, who gave her a squeeze and sighed, as he stared up at his brother.

“Okay,” Dean announced as he pushed her away and gazed into her eyes, “what do we got?”

“A whole hell of a lot of trouble.”  Beth sat down and powered up the laptop again.  “I mean Olympus-sized. If you still have pull with your angel buddy, Cas, you might want to give him a shout because we’re going to need him on this one.”

“Beth,” Sam sighed, trying to keep up with her rambling, “what is it?”

“Harpies.”  Her eyes locked on him.

“Herpes?”  Dean’s face twisted up just at the sound of it.

“No, HARPIES.” Beth enunciated. “If you're that worried about it, you should really get checked.” She twirled the laptop around to show them what she had found. “Greek mythology has them pinned as “the hounds of Zeus”, you know God of Lightning and all of that.  Anyway, they were the beasts he sent down to punish people. They’re depicted in paintings many different ways but in text they are bird-like creatures, no smaller than an eagle but usually not much larger than one, their stench is undeniable.”

“Unless it’s raining, then you can’t smell a damn thing because it’s being washed away.”  Dean added, rolling his eyes. 

“Exactly,” Beth moved the papers on the table around just a little bit and found the one she was looking for.  “The rain is also caused by them. There are three main ones, sisters actually, Aello, the storm; Celaeno, the dark: and Ocypete, the wind, all badasses and ready for war. They are air elements and can create destruction and chaos, especially fear, which is spread by their scent, almost like a siren. They are also said to have razor sharp feathers and talons that could rip out your throat. The people who have been dying are being infected by the Harpies. Something big had to have gone down in this town to attract the wrath of a Greek God.”

“How do we kill them?”  Sam questioned, stepping over to look through her research.  

“That’s just it, the only mention of anyone ever killing a Harpy was in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. The Boreads, who could fly, were able to drive away the other Harpies from an island that held Phineas.”  Beth stopped for a moment and gazed at the floor. Sam gave Dean a look of confusion then watched as she suddenly made her way to the computer. “Iron, the blades used in ancient Greece were made of Iron and steel, it’s what they would have killed them with, but…” she paused and glared at the screen in front of her. “there’s a catch.”

“There always is.” Dean muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“So, what is it?”  Sam sighed as he stepped closer.

“The only time they are vulnerable is when they are in flight, or if their wings are spread.  You have to cut off their wings in order to kill them.” Beth stared at the older of the two brothers.  “So, if you still have your angel on speed dial, I suggest you start dialing away.”

Dean sat down on the bed and ran his hand through his wet hair, spiking it up.  “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do. What else?”

“There isn’t anything else until we can get some backup, we just have to wait out the storm.”  Beth grabbed a few bags from behind the table and set them on the floor. “They didn’t have much at the gas station across the street while you were at the station, but I figured beer, pie, and junk food would last us at least a little while.”

 

Sam took a seat at the table, his finger tapping away at the wood. Beth had stolen his bed and dangled her head and arms over the edge as she lay on her stomach. Dean paced back and forth, his eyes to the ceiling as he mumbled under his breath.

“Beth,” Sam whispered, catching her attention.  She turned her head in his direction, laying her cheek on the comforter.  Slowly he rose and made his way over to sit between the two double beds. He rested his back against Dean's and brought his knees up towards his chest.  For a moment he just sat and watched her, the way her fingers played on the rug, as if she were pressing the keys of a piano. “What did we need to talk about?”

She smiled and peered over at Dean, who stopped short of the bathroom door and looked at the two of them, then focused his eyes on her and shrugged before he went back to his routine.  She licked her lips and slid closer to the edge of the bed, close enough to reach out and touch Sam.

“I need you to know what happened in New York.” She whispered, turning on the bed so she could use her arm to prop herself up.  Sam tried his best to keep his eyes from following the curve of her neck to where her shirt dipped, finding it very difficult to focus on her, until she switched positions again.  This time she sat down across from him, her thigh close to his foot with her back braced against his bed. “I wanted to see if you would remember all of it on your own, but it looks like that isn’t going to happen, so I need you to let me tell you something about us.”

“Us?” The confusion in his eyes made her stop and give a small nod.  

“You were five-ish when you first came to my dad’s, Dean was nine, my sister Serena was nine too.  They would run off ahead of us while we explored the woods, so you and I were stuck together. Things were good then, I mean who wouldn’t want her own hero.”  Beth smiled as she talked, her eyes trained on her own fingers as she gave into the memories. “Dean, in his usual way could be pretty mean to a girl.”

“Yeah but you could whoop my ass on any given day!”  He announced in the background.

“He’s right, but most of the time, I didn’t have too.  I had you.” Her grin widened and she stared up into his eyes.  “I don’t care where we were on the farm, but the instant that your brother started in, you were there, standing in front of me.”

“We were so young, how do I not remember this?” Sam wondered and watched as the smile faded.  

“Things got more complicated as we got older, Sam.” 

“Complicated how?”

He watched as her eyes darted around the room and slowly began to glisten.  “Ah, when we were fourteen you and I got close.”

“How…close?”  His voice became a whisper as her chin began to quiver, tears started to well up in her eyes.

“We were together.”  She finally met his gaze and watched as the information sunk in. The surprised expression on his face, the way his eyebrows perked up and his mouth curved as he fought to find the words gave her pause but she continued.  “It lasted five years, up until we turned nineteen.”

It explained everything, why her touches turned him on, why the sight of seeing Dean with her made him jealous, but what wasn’t she telling him? He glanced up at Dean who had that same teary-eyed look.

“What happened?”  He demanded, leaning closer to her, “what happened to us, Beth?”

“One night, Dean and Serena were out in the woods, goofing around, normal stuff for them.”  She started, the blank look returned to her eyes as she focused on the floor in front of her.  “Our fathers were in the kitchen while we were talking in the living room. It was the last time the kiss happened.  Every time you left my side, you would put your hand on the back of my neck and kiss the top of my head. I never understood why you did it, but that didn’t matter because I liked it, until you stopped.”  

She swallowed hard and wiped one of the tears that fell from her eyes. “There was a scream, a God-awful scream that vibrated the house and the three of you were out before I could blink, yelling for Dean and Serena.  Black dogs, not the Hellhounds but red-eyed dogs had surrounded the house. I never knew how they made that awful sound. The door came open, Dean and Serena came in, but you didn’t.” Beth took in a ragged, deep breath and Sam reached out for her, but she withdrew her hand as he moved closer.  “You didn’t come back inside, Sam.”

“Where was I, what happened?”  He questioned and looked up at Dean once again, this time his brother had his fist pressed against his lips. “Dean, what happened?”

“We don’t know, Sammy.”  He mumbled behind his hand.

“You don’t know?”  Sam stood and paced around the room.  “I went missing and you don’t know what happened?”

“You were gone for two days.”  Beth spoke up, drawing his attention back to her as she stared at the floor.  “We searched the farm for two days, with the help of hunting dogs and neighbors but you were nowhere to be found.” She stopped to catch her composure as if it was almost too hard to go on, but she took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. “I was walking by the old fort that ran along the stream, it's one that you and I used to hide in when Dean and Serena were being cruel.”

She finally stared up at him, her eyes rimmed with red from crying. The blue in them was now a bright silver, as tears streamed down her face.  “I saw your jacket caught on a branch in the stream, you were cold, so very cold.” Sam knelt down in front of her, the anger he had felt about his disappearance faded as he watched her pain.  “I dragged you to the shack, made the best fire I could and I took off all of your wet clothes. The blankets weren’t working, your body stopped shivering, and I knew hypothermia had set in, all I could do was hold you.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered and gently brushed her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

“It wasn’t, Sam, it wasn’t because I swore you were dead.”  Her sobs crippled his resistance so he gathered her up in his arms. He wrapped her tightly against his body as he fought the tears, still not remembering anything about what she was saying.

“The only way we knew to come was because we saw smoke.”  Dean added, his own voice thick with emotions. “Paul and Dad had you up, out the door and into a hospital before Beth even knew what was going on. I thought…we thought we had lost you, but you came back.”

“And the memories?” Sam growled, not sure where the emotions were coming from.

“The doctor said it was because of the hypothermia.”

“But?” He demanded. “Dean, there’s always a but!”

Dean looked defeated once more.  “Dad and Paul thought there was something else out there, something that sent the dogs, something that took you, so they went hunting for it.  We don’t know what they found but when you woke up, you didn’t remember anything about Beth, not what she meant to you, not how you felt, not that you even cared.”

“Why just her?”

“It wasn’t just her!”  Dean stepped closer. “We had to leave the farm and you acted as if you couldn't give two shits about the girl you loved and trust me Sam, you did love her.”  Sam shook his head, still feeling the tremble of the woman in his arms, and pressed his lips against her head. “Dad dismissed it, and you…you forgot. The next time we went back, that was when Beth would come down and sit with me outside.  She didn’t know what to do with herself, not with you inside having no memories of her. That was when Serena died.”

“What?”  Sam was completely stunned as he felt Beth pull away.  She slipped from his arms and settled herself against the bed once more.  

“They came back, the dogs.”  Beth sniffled. “They took her this time.  We looked for her almost two weeks and well, we all know what happened after that.” Her emotions suddenly went flat, as if that memory was too painful to remember, she got to her feet. “Fire, smoke, salt and burn...that whole deal.”

“Beth!”  Dean scolded, and she stood, turning towards him.  

“What?  It was my sister, my father…I can be just as pissed off as I want, Dean!”  She snapped. Sam stood and watched as this exchange grew heated while the anger in Beth’s eyes intensified. “Those damn dogs!  We never even found out what called them in the first place. All we had to go on was that Dad killed a shifter who had taken my form.  He knew what you didn’t. You, Dean! Of all the people in the world, you should have known it wasn’t me!”

“I should have known?”  Dean snapped. “Listen here, sister, the only thing I should have known was not to take an amateur into a cave.” Beth marched over and smacked him square in his face, whipping Dean’s head to the side.  He composed himself as he turned back to the red-faced woman before him. His breathing was labored as he held in his fury, and leaned down within inches of her glare. “If you’re going to tell the story, Elizabeth, you might want to tell him all of it, every last detail.”

With that, Dean stormed by, grabbed the Impala keys and walked out the door. The rain outside had almost stopped but Beth could hear the screeching of the Eagles.  She turned and looked at Sam, who wasn’t sure what to do with himself.

“Well, I guess now that it’s out in the open...”  She shrugged and walked into the bathroom. Sam could hear the water running as he moved slowly towards the bathroom.  He watched from the half-opened door as she splashed water on her face, placed one hand on each side of the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.

Sam took a deep breath, folded his arms across his chest and observed her for only a moment before he cleared his throat and shifted the weight on his legs.  “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

“Would it really matter, Sam?” She shut the water off and leaned against the sink.  “You didn't remember, I was hurting, and he was there. It doesn’t change who we are to each other now, at least for him and I. Does it change things between us? I don’t have a clue, because I don’t know how you feel, and to be honest, you probably shouldn’t feel a thing.  It’s been fifteen years, Sammy.” She opened the door to walk past him but he wrapped his fingers gently around her upper arm causing her eyes to travel upward. His eyes were green and full of emotions, like a storm of turmoil. “I know, don’t call you Sammy.”

She shook off his hand and continued to walked by him. He watched as she stood in the middle of the room debating on which bed to lie down on.  He witnessed a burst of frustration from her as she swept the cot clean, sending every tool and piece of clothing she owned onto the floor. Without a single look back, she curled into a fetal position on the small mattress, turning her face toward the wall.

 

Sam watched her from the bed, his head back against the hard brick just above the headboard.  Dean hadn’t come back in, and Beth’s only movement was the few quivers of her body as she tried to breathe out the emotions.  He had an overwhelming need to touch her, that he’d been holding back since his hand wrapped around the warmth of her skin in the bathroom doorway.

Taking in a ragged breath, he slid off the bed and moved quietly to kneel beside the cot, her back still to him. He wished at that moment that his hands weren’t so rough, but he still reached out and brushed his fingertips along her bare shoulder.  She stiffened at first, but as he moved them up towards the back of her neck, he could see the rise of her chest quicken.

“Sam, please don’t.” Her attempt was feeble but she didn’t move, didn’t turn to stop him, even as those fingers trailed down the curve of her neckline, causing her to quiver. As he moved his fingers back up towards the spot just under her ear his body eased a little closer to hers and he found himself placing the other hand on her waist. This got her attention so quickly that she whipped her body around to find him hovering above her.  “Stop.” She pleaded in a whisper. His fingers gently caressed the length of her neck, from just under her ear to the swell of her breast. She begged him once again but this time it came out more of a soft moan. Her chin tilted up in response to the soft touch of his rough fingers moving along her jawline. “Sam.”

He hadn’t realized just how close he had gotten when the feel of her breath against him at the sound of his name turned him on.  His hand stretched out, thumb just under her jaw as his large fingers cupped the back of her head. Beth’s hand clenched his arm as he brought her up towards him.  Sam wanted to kiss her, wanted to close that distance but as she sat and turned, placing her legs on either side of his hips, he realized that all he really needed was to feel her close.

“When you touched me,” he whispered softly as he stared up into her eyes, “my head exploded, and my heart raced but I didn’t know why. Your fingers,” he sighed as he lifted her hand with his free one, never releasing the hold he had tangled in her hair, “brushed me and all I wanted was you. Your breath against my skin makes me need you and now…now I understand.  My body knew all along who you were, even if I didn’t.”

“You still don’t, Sam,” she whimpered as he placed his forehead against hers.  She gripped his shirt with her free hand as she pulled herself from his grip.

Grabbing his shirt was meant to push him away, but the heat of his body under it sent chills up her arms.  The feeling of his breath on her, and the rise and fall of his chest as his breathing intensified was almost more than she could take. When she leaned in, foreheads still touching, her lips brushed against the soft, wetness of his.  She could feel him shaking uncontrollably as he held back, not wanting to give into the lust that filled him. She captured his mouth with hers, and felt his arm wrap around her back as he moved closer.

The kisses were soft and teasing, but she could tell his grip was slipping as he released her hair and slid his arm down under hers to brace her back.  Beth’s moan against Sam’s mouth sent surges through his whole body, and he realized that as his fingers caressed along her spine, she arched towards him.  With a sly grin, he did it once more, this time all the way up. When he hit the spot between her shoulders, she let her head drop back and a sigh of relief escaped from her mouth. He took this as an opportunity to lean in and brush his lips along her neck, while his fingers continued to tease her back. He used the tip of his tongue to travel along the same path that left her whimpering. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he stroked his tongue along the line of her collarbone.

The phone on the table rang as it vibrated itself over the edge, suddenly shaking the two of them from their situation.  Beth straightened, looking down at Sam as he slowly brought his hands to her waist and sunk down to sit on his feet, but they never lost eye contact.  Sam debated on letting her go at all before finally grabbing the phone from the floor where it had landed.

He flipped it open. “Dean?”

_ “It’s flipping raining out here, do you think I could come in and get my coat or are the two of you still making smacking noises?” _  Sam smiled at Beth, who turned red in the face and stared at the door.  

“Come in, but be careful not to get wet.”  He answered and closed the phone. 

Sam slowly moved away from her, sitting on the edge of the bed.  The door opened and Dean scurried in. He quickly removed his shirt, throwing the wet one on the ground and raced over to his bag to grab another. As he pulled it down over his head, he came face to forehead with Beth. He stared down at the blue-eyed woman, and backed away from her, just a bit. 

“You’re not going to slap me again, are you?”  He questioned as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“I’m sorry.”  She smiled.

“Wait, say that again,” he grinned and winked at Sam, who found himself beaming at their exchange. Beth slapped him in the arm.  “Ow!” he hissed, “I thought you were sorry.”

“I was, and then you had to make some stupid comment and piss me off again.”  She shrugged and walked over to the small fridge to grab a water.

“So, ah, are you two, you know, kosher?”  

“Yes, Dean, we’re fine.”  Sam replied watching as Dean flashed his eyes back and forth between them.

“Ah-ha, I think you’re more than just fine,” the older brother chuckled and grabbed a long-sleeved shirt from the bag. He peeked up at Sam, who’s face had gone blank, and turned to see what he was staring at.

Castiel stood in the room, suit, tie, trench coat, and hair completely disheveled.  Beth stared in awe at him, and then she smiled. His eyes were trained on Dean’s, the emotions that ran over his face were evident and this made her heart quicken.  Dean had been a little more than shocked to see the man standing before him, like they hadn’t seen each other in decades. As he stepped from the bed to stand in front of his friend, his mouth agape, the smile on Beth’s face widened.

“Cas?”  Dean’s husky voice spiked an octave. As if thinking he might be seeing things and completely unsure of his own body, he asked again,  “Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?” The angel replied. Beth pressed her hands to her lips, trying to hide the pleasure that the whole scene was giving her.  Sam glanced over at her as she winked which only made him more confused. To him this was a normal exchange between the two, what could she possibly be smiling at?  “I heard your call, I believe I know what’s going on in this town.” He lowered his voice, “I came as soon as I could.”

“We know what’s going on, they’re harpies.” Beth spoke up, catching Castiel’s attention.  The man turned and looked at her, his brow creased as he took in everything about her, then he gave her a crooked smile.

“Exactly.”  

Dean spoke up, “and according to Beth’s research we have to cut off their wings when they’re flying.  How the hell are we going to do that?”

“Same way you do everything else, anyway you can.” Cas, who was still taking in his surroundings, turned back to Dean and stepped closer, close enough to feel the breath against his skin.  “Dean, there is a town full of innocent people out there and we need to save them.”

“Where the hell have you been?” Dean snapped, as their eyes locked on one another.  “It’s been weeks since we’ve heard any word from you and suddenly you show up here in the middle of nowhere and say “I heard you, I know what’s going on?”  You can’t do that? I’ve been calling you for weeks, and now you just pop in? You can’t do that, in fact you can’t disappear without a word and just expect me…us to even want to hear what you have to say.”

“I was on a mission.”  Cas sighed, as if he just didn’t have the strength to argue.  “I can’t tell you much about it but I was sent back here because this is going to be too much for you guys to handle, even with Beth at your side.”

“Fine.”  Dean reached down and grabbed his coat, one of the reasons he had even walked back into the room.  “But I’m going to get dinner, you coming?”

“It’s raining out Dean; that could be very dangerous.”

“I don’t care, we need to talk!”

Cas looked back at Beth and Sam, unsure of what the two of them would think as Dean headed for the door.  Beth waved her hands at him, as if shooing him out of the room. Cas slumped his shoulders, not from being scolded, but as if he knew he was about to be. The door closed behind him and Beth tried to keep a straight face as she sat down in the small chair. The smile, however, continued to creep up on her until she could no longer contain herself and burst into laughter.

Sam sat against the headboard, watching her.  “What is so funny?”

“Oh come on, you can’t see that?”  She smirked.

“See what?”

“It’s obvious that Cas is completely in love with your brother.”

“He’s not gay.”  Sam rolled his eyes.

“He’s an angel, for them there’s no such thing as gay or straight.”  Beth sat forward and watched as Sam settled in, ready to hear exactly what she meant. “I know that you know about angels Sam, they're messengers. Originally they were sent to protect us, be the go-betweens for us and God. Yeah, they were said to be men, but sexuality as we know it doesn’t come into play, and in that case angels would be neutral.”

“Why would Cas be in love with Dean? I mean, I’ve seen some things between them but never like that.” 

“When Cas came to Earth, he pulled Dean from the depths of Hell itself, it might have been an order at the time but angels don’t see sexuality, they see beauty in everything and they fall in love with beautiful things.  Female or male, the gender doesn’t matter to an angel. Cas fell in love because Dean, in his eyes, is beautiful.”

“And Dean?”

“Dean loves him, whether he says it or not.” Beth stared at her fingers for a moment, still smiling.  “Dean needs him, and he knows it, but come on, this is Dean we are talking about. Macho, badass Dean…do you really think he’s going to openly give into the feelings he has for Cas?”  Beth stood and looked out the window.

“So why are you smiling?”  Sam seemed unsure as she turned back towards him.

“He deserves to be happy.” Beth walked over and sat down on the bed beside him. Sam moved his legs over just a little bit and let her get comfortable.  “He’s Dean, he wants a connection with a woman, but there so much emotion between him and Cas, I don’t think he’s going to ever find that in some girl…”

“He said he was emotionally unavailable.”

Beth grinned widely.  “When did he say that?”

“Back at the lake.”

“Oh,” Sam scooted forward and sat directly beside her.  She reached up and pushed a piece of his hair out of his eyes. “Listen, I am not saying that there’s something going on between them, just that there's a connection.”

“Dean can be in love with whoever he wants,” Sam sighed, “I wouldn’t judge, he’s my brother.”

“It would be nice if you'd let him know that.”  Beth whispered, smiling as the distance between them faded.  “What about dinner?” She whispered against his lips.

“What dinner?”  He replied, kissing her softly. Beth backed away from him, just a little and grinned.

“I don’t mean to be a bitch, really, but we should probably wait to take this any further.” Sam nodded but stood rather quickly.  He tripped over his thoughts for only a moment before he pointed at the bathroom.

“I’m going to take an ice cold shower.”  Beth giggled as he practically ran into the bathroom and shut the door. Upon hearing the spray of the shower, she moved towards the laptop, hoping to find out more about what she needed to know.

 

Dean sat behind the wheel of the Impala. He didn’t want to eat in the restaurant, but he didn’t want to sit in the car either. Castiel stared out the front windshield and waited patiently.  

“Where have you been?”  Dean questioned as calmly as he could, but his husky voice sounded just as demanding and scolding as it always did.

“There is something that is going on, it’s Angel business, and I’m afraid if I get you involved you’ll get hurt.” Cas answered as he turned to look at Dean. The green-eyed man looked over his features, and nodded, accepting the answer.

“So, you couldn’t call, or text or dreamwalk to tell me that you were okay?”  He raised his eyebrows when he caught Castiel’s blue eyes.

“Dreamwalk?” Cas inquired. “Dean, I would never enter your dreams uninvited.”

“Well, consider this your official invitation.” He rubbed his forehead, glanced out the window, and turned back toward Cas. “I just need to know that you’re okay, so whichever way you can get that to me, it’s fine. You’re family, we need each other.”

“I need you too, Dean.” Cas admitted. Dean was taken aback by the admission but he wasn’t sure if it was a simple reply or had a bigger meaning. Either way, he was taking it.  “There is something I need to tell you about this job. The Harpies, they’re going to screw with your mind, Dean, and it’s going to be rough, almost dangerously close to the edge of what you can handle.”

“Cas, why are you telling me this?” Dean watched as the Angel leaned closer to him. 

“In case you get into trouble, and I can’t help you.”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to help me?”  Now, Cas was confusing him, there was never a time that he couldn’t help him in one way or another. This sounded like he was saying that Dean was on his own.  

“Harpies have certain powers that I may or may not be able to neutralize.  It’s been thousands of years since the Angels have come anywhere near Harpies, so lore is kind of sketchy on the contact between the two of them.”  Dean sat back in his seat and gave him a pout. “I need to find out who called them here, why this particular area, and who would know how to summon a Greek god, but I can’t just come out and ask.”

“You’re being kind of sketchy now.”  He mumbled. He didn't mean to take it out on Cas, but he was used to the way that Beth would respond with a quick-witted retort.

“Dean, I’m sorry.”  The apology caught Dean’s attention and his gaze turned quickly back to the dark-haired man.  He reached down and softly placed a hand on top of the one that Cas had rested on the seat. When he realized what he had done he quickly moved it up to his shoulders instead.

“We’ll be okay.”  Dean nodded and then listened to the rain as it began to pelt down on the car.  “Jesus, that’s picking up pretty fast.”

“The Harpies are close by.”  Cas started to look out each of the windows for the winged creatures. Dean did the same before the wind and rain gusted hard against the car, causing it to rock.

Dean and Cas watched as a mailbox was picked up from the sidewalk, where it had been bolted to the concrete, and tumbled down the street.  Debris flew in every direction. Dean ducked just in time to avoid a heavy metal chair from the café up the street. It smashed into the side of Impala, sending glass careening into the vehicle and rain pelting down over him.  Castiel grabbed his friend by the sleeve of his leather jacket and yanked him out the opened passenger side door. Cas dragged Dean who moved dazed and bloodied through the torrential downpour to the safety of an old building.  

Once inside, Dean rested against the wall.  The blow from the chair had knocked the glass against the side of his head, nearly knocking him unconscious. He felt as if he could barely stand.  Castiel pushed him up to stand against the wall, and started to strip the rain-soaked coat from the green-eyed man. Dean struggled to stay focused as he felt the Angel’s hands ripping away at his clothing.  

“Stop, Cas!”  Dean swung at him and latched onto the tan trench coat that Cas wore, not sure if he was stopping him or holding himself up.  “Why are you taking off my clothes?”

“You’re soaked with rain driven by Harpies, Dean, it’s going to start affecting you if you don’t get it away from your skin.”  Cas reached for his belt and Dean’s eyes got wide, quickly placing his hand solidly on top of the other man’s, who had his buckle in his grip.  “All of it, Dean. It’s imperative to remove it all.”

“I think I got this one.”  Dean smiled reluctantly as he felt his face flush.  “You, ah, find me something to wear.”

“Right.”  Cas trotted off to find something in the building that would suffice for Dean to change into.

While he was gone, Dean waited in his boxers, sitting on the floor as he tried to catch his breath.  That knock to his head was worse than he thought as he watched a figure move in the darkness towards him.

“Cas?”  He whispered, pretty sure that the approaching person had more of a feminine sway than his old friend but he wasn’t expecting Beth to walk out of the shadows.  She was different, her clothing anyway. She wore tight black jeans, and a corset top with a thin leather jacket over it. This was definitely not his Beth, but she was beautiful, one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

“Nope, not Cas, gorgeous.” She said as she squatted down next to him. Yep, definitely not his Beth.

“What do you want, Bitch?” Dean grumbled, knowing that this had to be a Harpy.

“Dean Winchester, how the mighty have fallen.”  She chuckled, his current situation feeding her needs.

“Lady, I’ve fallen more times then I care to talk about.” He grew irritated on top of the pounding in his head. “Now talk, before I kick your ass.”

“Awe, sweet Dean, such a mouth on you.  What I want is simple enough, I want you to suffer, that’s all I’ve ever wanted for anyone.  You see you can’t always get what you want, and you want two things you can’t have. So, I’ve decided that, for you, I’m going to do a special mind bend. You’re going to have to choose between your precious angel and your brother’s girl.”

“Why would I do that?” His eyesight faltered as he tried hard to stay awake.

“Because that’s the rules.”

“Screw the rules.”

“A powerful man brought us here, all the way from Olympus, to find you, Dean. You, Sam, your angel and your little girl.  He wants you and he will stop at nothing to get you. You see, you’re a very powerful lot, the four of you together. Take one out and the rest will fall, like table legs.”

“Why us?”  Dean prodded, trying to get more of an answer.

“Apparently, it’s just what you do, piss of the wrong person. This one just happens to be a God.”

“Funny, I don’t remember any Pagan Gods that I’ve pissed off lately.”  Dean’s quick-witted responses kept him going as he fought against the fuzz that filled his mind.  “Care to share exactly who?”

“I wish I knew specifics, Deany-boy, I really wish I did, but we’re just Zeus’ hired guns at the moment.  Maybe your little wing-boy will know,” she winked and stood. “You’ll have to choose Dean, one or the other, and tick-tock, my boy.  Time’s awasting.

“I won’t choose one or the other, I would kill for them both.” Dean growled, staring the creature right in her golden eyes.

“To get out of this, you will.”  She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.  

Cas came out of the other room with an old pair of what looked like sweat clothes. “Apparently, we’re hiding in the back of the health club. These were behind the counter, they’re clean.”

Dean pulled them on slowly. When he was done, he let Cas look at the gashes on his head. “I’m pretty sure I have one hell of a concussion.”

“Just don’t go to sleep, Dean.”  Cas squatted down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “I’m going to look for your cell phone. For some reason my powers aren’t working and I think we need your brother.”

 

At the room:

 

Beth stood up from the bed, and placed the laptop on the table, as she watched the wind howl against the windows.  It was about that same moment that the laptop flickered. She watched the screen flip through different sights until it landed on one. An old mythology about the North Wind and the Harpies, but the depiction of the old gods was not what she expected.

“SAM!!!!” She screamed as she broke for the bathroom.  Without knocking, she swung the door open and stopped to see him stark naked except for the towel he happened to be holding over his otherwise exposed body.  She scanned every muscle, every ridge, and every defined ripple before she suddenly shook herself out of it. “We need to find Dean, now!”

He raised his eyebrows, which made her turn around as he wrapped the towel securely around his waist. “What’s going on?” With that he stopped and listened to the wind scream outside. “What is that?”

“A Harpy’s wail.  They use it to summon the winds. Dean’s in trouble, you need to ping his phone.”

“Do what?”

“GPS his phone, we need to know exactly where he is!”  She was frantically searching for something in the pile of items that she had flung onto the floor earlier that day.  

“Beth, what’s going on?”  He stopped her, grabbing her gently by the shoulders, he could see the worry in her eyes. 

“The Harpies have one weakness, and there is only one story of who killed them in mythology.”

“The Boreads, the ones you told us about earlier.”

“Yes, Sons of the North Wind.”  She turned the computer to show him the image of the battle.

“Angels, they look like angels.”

“Dean’s in some serious trouble if the only one who can kill them is standing right beside him. They’ll be gunning for Cas and Dean’s going to get caught in the crossfire.”  She grabbed the machete that she finally found buried on the floor. She watched as Sam multitasked, getting the GPS to go off on Dean’s phone from the laptop while hopped into his jeans, a sight she very much enjoyed.  

“There!”  Sam pointed at the screen, “it’s only about a mile from here.”

“Finish getting dressed and we’ll go down.”  She moved other things around as she tried to keep her cool, and Sam finished pulling on shirt and his shoes.  He stopped her again before they went out the door, his hand caressing her cheek. 

“Take a deep breath, Beth, we’ll find him and he’ll be okay.”  He was surprised to find that it didn’t upset him with how emotional she was at that moment over his brother.  Sam leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, then once on the forehead. “Let’s go.”

 

Dean’s eyesight faded in and out as he tried to focus, but it was no use, the only thing he could make out were blurry shapes.  Cas was sitting no less than two feet from him, his blue eyes scanning the room at all times.

“Cas,” he called out, but even his voice seemed to waver. The angel was by his side before Dean could blink, in fact he was inches from his face. “We talked about this closeness thing, right, personal space?”

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry.”  But to his surprise, Dean grabbed a fist full of his dress shirt and tie, holding him still.

“That Harpy Bitch put something on me.  If I start hallucinating, don’t let me kill myself.” Dean could feel his eyes tearing. “I don’t want to go back to hell.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Cas replied. “We’re going to get you out of here.”

His eyes focused past the the dark-haired man that he held close, to the looming darkness behind him. “Beth?” Dean questioned as he suddenly caught the shadow of a woman sneaking up behind Cas.  She raised the butt-end of the sawed-off shotgun and brought it down on the back of the Angel’s head. He slumped forward into Dean’s lap and she turned the gun on Cas. “What the hell are you doing?”

“He’s a dream Dean, something the harpies came up with.”  Beth answered as she grabbed Cas by the collar and pulled him off of Dean. He watched as his old friend dragged the man’s body away.  

“Beth, something’s wrong with my head, you’ve got to get Sam and get me out of here.”  Dean pleaded.

“Not until I take care of this one.” She gave out a small snarl, as if she were about to enjoy a nice steak dinner and cocked the gun.

“NO!”  Dean protested. “Wait, wait. What if you’re wrong, what if it really is Cas?”

“It needs to go Dean.”  

“Stop, Beth.  Just leave him and we’ll go.”

“You don’t believe me?”  She questioned and turned back to Dean.

“I believe you but, look, he’s out, we can just leave.”

“They’ll come back,” she turned to Cas once more and aimed the gun.

“Beth, I’m begging you, don’t shoot.”

“You’re choosing him over me?”  She questioned, and suddenly the scene changed.  Cas was on his feet, a knife at her throat from behind.

“She’s the Harpy, Dean, we need to kill her!”  Cas’ gruff voice announced.

“No, Cas, put the knife down.  She’s not the harpy.” Dean was utterly confused at that point but he knew one thing, neither of them was the monster.

“You have to choose one of us, Dean, you can’t have us both.”  Beth snapped, as she drew a blade from her pocket, not that it would do any good on Cas, it wasn’t an Angel Blade.

“I’m not going to choose.” Dean shook his head, wanting to close his eyes, but he knew that the head injury would take over the instant he did.  “I can’t…I can’t choose, I love you both too much.”

“She’s the monster that is keeping us here, let me kill her! It’s what you brought me here to do.” Cas spoke up. As he pressed the knife deeper, Beth gave a little yelp.

“No, Dean, listen to me, I told you to call him here, you know this isn’t him.  He wouldn’t hurt an innocent human.” Beth defended. “Let me kill him.”

“No,” Dean’s struggle came out in his voice. Suddenly, the scene changed again and both were being held by dark figures behind them.  

“We’ll choose for you, Dean Winchester.” An old female voice spoke up, Castiel’s new captor, Angel Blade in hand. “Which one of them will die? Which one of them will die?  Your old love or your new?” It goaded.

“Neither of them, you son of a bitch!”  Dean shouted.

“Dean, listen to me.” Beth spoke up.  “Let them kill me, save him. He’s an Angel, he can do so much more for you.”

“No, Dean, Beth needs to be saved, she has an important role in the months to come.  Make sure she’s unharmed, I will heal myself.” Cas announced.

“Cas!” he growled as if the angel wasn’t listening, “That’s an Angel Blade she has against your throat,” Dean whimpered. “You’re not coming back from that.”  He glanced at the two things, whatever they were. “Let them both go, you can have me.”

“We don’t want you, Winchester, we want you to decide. Who do you love more?  Tell us, who do you  _ want _ more?” The one behind Beth pressed. He watched as the blade slipped along Beth’s neck, a stream of red trickled down.

“NO! Stop!!” He ordered and listened to it laugh.

“So you have decided on this one.”  And it turned its head towards Castiel. The tip of the blade was pressed against his chest and began its ascent into his ribs. Cas looked down at the blade and choked on the blood that streamed from his mouth.

“CAS!!!”  Dean struggled to get up, to lunge for the monster but he couldn’t move, he was just too weak.  

He could hear the gurgles coming from Beth, as the blade ran deeper on the way through her throat.  Back and forth Dean struggled with his decision. The light started to pierce Cas’ skin, they were getting close to his heart, but the blade was also sinking deeper into Beth’s neck, her artery wasn’t too far from the surface. His heart pounded as he struggled to see them both but they were going to die at his hands if he didn’t do something.

“Remember you thought I was dead once, you swore to protect me, and now I’m dying again. Chose me Dean.”  Beth’s voice whispered in his ear, as he watched her struggle to breathe. 

“I rose you from hell, I’ve fallen from Heaven for you.  I’ve gone against everything just for you, Dean, just for you.”  Castiel’s voice beamed in his other. 

“What has he done for you, Dean, what can he do for you?  Nothing, I can give you everything.” Beth growled

“She’s your brother’s lover, Dean, you can’t cross that line again.  I can give you everything you need, in the deepest way possible. I can be everything to you.”

“Stop!”  Dean pleaded, as tears ran down his cheek.  “Please stop.”

“Choose me, Dean, we can grow old together, start a family, be happy. The three of us. You, me and Sam, your family.” Seduction seeped through Beth’s voice

“I am your family.  I need you, family doesn’t end with blood, Dean.”  Castiel’s words rang over in his mind as he looked back and forth between them.  

Depression set in.  If Beth died, Sam would hate him without even learning the whole truth. If it was Cas than his own heart would be forever broken.  Tears fell from his eyes as he focused on Beth, and shook his head. “I’m sorry.” He whispered to her, his lips fighting for more words than he could gather and the only thing that came out was a simple, deadly sentence, “I love you, but I need him.”

Dean closed his eyes as he heard the blade slice deep, not once but twice, and snapped them open, thinking he had lost them both. But there, where the shadow and Beth stood just moments ago, was the shocked face of the beautiful Harpy who had spoken to him.  Fire blazed from the tips of what used to be her spread wings and she fell forward. Outside the wailing of the wind stopped, the pelting rain ceased, and the cries of the Eagles vanished. Behind the crumpled body of the monster stood the woman he thought he had just killed, iron fortified machete in hand, smiling down at her handy work.

“Stupid bitch.”  She mumbled, the anger in her voice was ever present.  “Never saw it coming.”

Dean’s mouth opened in complete shock as the Harpy burst into flames and he looked towards Cas who was lying in a crumpled lump on the floor, with Sam beside him checking the back of his head.  He turned back to the woman stepping towards him and jumped as she reached out to touch him. 

“It’s over, Dean, one of the sisters is dead. The others will follow, they won’t stay as long as they know they’re targets and that we have the upper hand.”  She whispered softly. Dean grabbed her coat and pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “It’s going to be okay, Dean.”

“I killed you,” he mumbled against her neck while holding her, drinking in her scent as he tried so hard to breathe through the loss.  She could feel the wetness of his tears against her throat. “I couldn’t lose him, I’m so sorry. I love _ you _ but I can’t lose  _ him _ .”

“Shh, Dean, it’s ok.”  She sighed in his arms.  “You did what you needed to do, and you know what,” she grabbed his cheeks and pushed his head back to look into his eyes, “I’d pick him too, he’s way hotter than me.” Sam suddenly shot her a curious look from where he sat, putting pressure on Cas’ wound as she winked, with a small grin,  in his direction. 

“They said I had to choose and I killed you.  I…I did it wrong, I should have chosen you.” His blubbering words were followed by sobs so she placed her hand on the back of his head, pulling him closer.

“You did good, Dean, you did.” She sighed as she fought back her own tears. She slowly started to notice his sobbing had stopped as he gave into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Cas slowly opened his eyes and looked up. “Sam?” He questioned as the younger Winchester stood over him.  “What happened?”

“You were sleeping on the job.”  Sam teased as he helped Cas sit up.

“That can’t be right, we don’t sleep.”  Cas mumbled, confused. Sam grinned at him and patted him on the back gently.  

“The Harpy knocked you out.”  Beth answered and watched as Cas nodded. His eyes were filled with understanding and confusion as to how he had been caught so off guard.  That was when he suddenly began to move, when he saw Dean crumpled in her arms. 

“His head, he’s hurt, Beth.”  

“I know, Cas, do you have your juice back?  You have a pretty good lump on the back of the head yourself.”  She smiled. He reached out his hand and touched the forehead of the man in Beth’s arms.  Light spread around Dean and Beth felt a jolt through his body but he didn’t wake up. “Now, heal yourself.  We’re going to need you.”

Cas nodded, closed his eyes for a second then reopened them, staring at her.  “I’m all healed. I assume you killed the Harpies?”

“One,” Sam said as he moved over to sit on the floor with the other three. “They were actually the easiest to pick out after Beth knew what she was looking for.”

“The Harpy Eagles were big, but the three originals, the actual monsters were just a bit bigger.  We knew one would be in here. One of them always has to be where the fear is, so that they can create more.  We knew that she would open her wings to soak in the fear and took our chances with the iron blade. All it took was one quick whip and a zip and those wings were toast. I’m sure the other two have flown the coop by now.” Beth turned to Cas. “Did you know they would zap your powers?”

“Yes,” he answered directly.

“And you came anyway?” Sam asked surprised.

“It was the only way we could draw them to a certain spot.”  Beth sighed. “The North Wind and the Angels are close cousins, so close that the Harpies wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.”

“So Cas was bait?”  Sam sighed. “Dean isn’t going to like that when he hears it.”

“I can hear just fine.”  He mumbled into Beth’s sleeve, groaning from the pain of his muscles stressing as he began to move.  “I’m just too freaking tired to open my eyes.”

“Well, now that we know you’re semi back to normal, we can get out of this… wherever the hell we are.”  Sam glanced around at the space they sat in.

“Don’t forget my clothes.”  

Beth smiled and looked at the pile of discarded items on the floor.  “You ah, wanna explain that?”

“Shut up, Peterson, and get me the hell out of here.”  Dean growled. Sam and Cas helped him up from the floor and the four of them made their way back to the Impala.  The rain had stopped, the clouds had cleared, and the sun shined brightly on the broken car. Dean took one look at the damage and his legs almost gave out.  “Oh, Baby.”

“She’ll be alright.”  Beth whispered, her hand running along the curve of the car.  “I know a guy who can fix her up, good as new.”

“Hey, stop fondling my car.”  Dean teased and smiled as they set him down gently in the backseat.  “Oh, I haven’t been back here since…” Sam’s not so subtle glare stopped him mid-sentence but Dean’s grin widened. Cas slipped in the back with him and Sam seemed surprised when Beth grabbed the keys.  She took an old towel and brushed the glass from the front seat before slipping in behind the wheel.

“So, you’re driving?” Sam’s lips turned up into a sly grin.

“Don’t think I can handle something this big?”  She retorted raising her eyebrows as a subtle smile crossed her lips, and watched Sam blush.

“Oh, God, would you two just get a room!”  Dean sulked, curling up in the seat as he closed his eyes and Beth started up the car.

 

Dean was curled up on the bed, his eyes closed tightly as Beth, Sam and Cas stood by the door.

“So you knew about the Harpies all along?” Sam questioned Beth.  

“Cas told me about them.  It’s the reason that I knew we had to call him.” She shrugged, trying to pick her things up off the floor.

“When?” Sam was a bit confused since there wasn’t any real time that she was alone, except in the bathroom, which made Sam’s eyes widen. “When did he tell you?”

“At the beach.”  Cas interjected, which made the younger man relax.  “When you and Dean were talking, I appeared to Beth and told her that the next job would be one that you needed me for.”

“Why appear just to her?”

“Because he wouldn’t come unless Dean called.”  Beth smiled, with an “I told you so” kind of grin and winked at Cas.  “It was a specific detail in the plan.”

“So what now? Dean’s still not completely himself.” Sam glanced over at his brother, who moaned in his sleep, a sound of pain and sadness.

Cas sighed.  “Unfortunately, It’s going to take a few days for the depression to wear off.  In his mind, the events of today actually happened. He had to choose between Beth and I. You both need to keep him close, even if that means Beth doesn’t leave his side.  It’s temporary, but you don’t know what his mind’s state will be if he happens to find her gone.” He turned to Sam and looked up at him. “Let her sleep next to him, but don’t be jealous, it’s just for his safety.  I have to go, but call me, either one of you, if you need anything and I’ll be right in.”

“We will, and Cas, whatever you’re doing, be careful.”  Beth sighed and hugged him. The angel wasn’t used to the affections of the girl yet but he hugged her back, knowing she was the one keeping Dean safe.  Sam gave him a quick hug and suddenly he was gone from the room. “I’m exhausted.”

“Me too, let’s get some sleep.” But before she moved away, he took her hand in his and pulled her close.  With one hand on each side of her neck, his thumbs caressed her cheeks. Sam licked his lips as he stared down into the sea of blue before his and quickly brought his mouth to hers.  Beth’s breath caught and Sam smiled as a small gasp escaped her throat, one that bordered somewhere between a sigh and a moan. He pressed harder, but loved the feel of her body reacting to his as her arms slipped around him, holding him close.  

He pulled away slowly, trying to catch his own breath leaving his forehead rested against hers, he smiled.

“Sorry, I just had to.”  He whispered, his voice raspy with desire.  

Beth moved her hand to caress his cheek and grinned. “Never apologize, Sam, especially for something like that.”

Sam took her hand and walked her over to Dean’s bed.  He watched her movements as she crawled up beside his brother, laying down so she faced him as he sat down on the edge of his own.  

There was no jealousy as Dean instinctively wrapped his arms around her and closed the gap between them to push his nose into the nape of her neck.  Sam laid down on the other bed, close to the edge and gazed over at her for a few moments as her eyes began to grow heavy. Just before sleep took over, she stretched her arm out towards him, fingers spread wide and waited for him.  Sam did the same and clutched the tiny hand in his. He could easily grasp her just in his palm, but he held her fingers gently, rubbing each one with his thumb as she faded off to sleep.

He lay there quietly, feeling her hand, watching her face from the other side and smiled. How he wished he could remember everything.  With a giant exhale, he closed his eyes and let what little sleep he could get take over.

  
  
  



	3. As far as the eye can sea legs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They thought a little bit of R & R would be fine, they were wrong.

“As Far as the Eye Can Sea Legs.”

SPN FanFic #3

Copyright 2016 D.Gray

I do not own the rights to Sam, Dean, Castiel or the Impala.

 

Sam relaxed on the lush, green grass, with the beach chair underneath him and a cold brew in his hand.  Beside him were two empty chairs and a small cooler. He had his shades on to block the sun from his eyes while the nearby chirping of birds brought a smile to his face.  Ah, peace and quiet, he thought with his eyes closed. He was enjoying the alone time, some space to gather his thoughts. For just a moment, he opened his eyes to take in the beauty of the field in the small New York park. 

Children played on the playground to his left, a small pond filled with ducks was to his right and directly in front of him, an object came flying towards him at full speed.  He ducked just in time to avoid Dean’s left boot from colliding with his head.

“Son of a Bitch!”  He heard his brother howl about five-hundred yards out, which drew Sam’s attention to the fact that Dean lay cheek-to-grass in the field, with his right arm kinked up behind him. A petite woman sat triumphantly on top, her hair flowed down as she flipped it to one side so she could get close to his ear.  Sam never heard what she whispered but he was pretty sure that it consisted of several profanities.

Just as suddenly as the boot came flying by, the tables turned on Beth and she was being wrestled to the ground by the man twice her size.  Dean had her wrapped up, her arms pinned above her head, gripping her wrists, with her legs spread eagle below him. Just watching this position was making Sam squeamish as his brother smiled in triumph, until Beth slammed her forehead against Dean’s. 

Sam’s face cringed at the sound of the thump that it made, but Dean was dazed, which gave the small woman the opportunity to turn it in her favor once again.  She was able to twist out of his grip, as the blow had knocked him off balance. She kicked her hips up and got a foothold on the ground where she flipped him around and locked him in a choke hold, his neck lodged in the cradle of her elbow.

Beth didn’t squeeze, just held him there for a moment before he tapped her gently on the arm and she released him fully.  Dean rolled over onto his back and watched as she straddled him, then came down and rested her crossed arms on his chest. Mere inches from his face, she smiled, then licked the tip of his nose and got up.

“GROSS!!!” He hollered after her.  Beth grinned, brushed off the back of her jeans and made her way towards Sam. Both could hear him grunting in pain as he placed his forehead to the ground.

“You really should go easy with those head-butts.”  Sam warned, as she leaned down close to him. “And I am not kissing you after you licked my brother.”

“Fine.”  She replied, grabbed him gently by the chin and licked his cheek straight from bottom to top before sitting in the chair beside him.  Sam closed his eyes and used the side of his sleeve to wipe his face.

“I’m going to start agreeing with him if you keep doing that.” He laughed, while she grabbed a can out of the cooler and leaned closer to him.

“Oh, okay, so when I decide to do that in other…sensitive… areas, remind me how gross it is.”  Beth watched as the blush spread quickly across his cheeks especially since she popped the can just as she finished speaking, and sat back. “Ahh.” She exclaimed after a long sip of the fizzy soda.  “I love workouts.”

Sam adjusted himself in the chair, shaking his head.  She knew damn well her comments set him off. In fact, most of her subtle actions got him hot and heavy anyway, so why wouldn’t a little dirty talk help the situation.  

“Jesus, woman!” Dean exclaimed as he stepped closer, grabbing the boot that Sam had kicked towards him.  “Are you trying to give me a concussion?”

“Oh come on, I didn’t hit you that hard, you big baby!”  She replied and handed him a beer before he sat down on the grass in front of her.  She noticed that Sam was eyeing the group of older people who happened to be staring at them.  “What’s the matter, Sammy?”

“I don’t get why they’re staring.”  He couldn’t seem to understand the situation that the three of them created.  

Beth smiled down at Dean, who was giving her a sly grin. She stood, turned Sam back towards her and kissed him heatedly on the mouth.  He wanted to pull away, having been caught off guard but the feelings that ebbed through him made him place his hand against her cheek.  She released her hold painfully slow, backed up, and licked her lips while smiling down into his green eyes.

When she sat back down, Dean stood, blocked her from the onlookers, and leaned down close to her face.  Sam couldn’t help but laugh as Dean positioned himself as if he were kissing her. Beth grinned widely and reached up, placing a hand on the back of his head, roughly grabbing a handful of his hair.

“You know we’re going to hell for this.”  Dean winked, laughing and Beth just sighed.

“As long as we’re taking baby-face here with us.”  She shot Sam a seductive wink as Dean moved away with a devilish grin on his face. He gave Sam a pat on the shoulder as he walked past him to the Impala.  Beth gestured in the direction of the shocked crowd and Sam’s head dropped, completely embarrassed.

“He’s right, we’re going to hell.”  Sam laughed, taking her hand, and the cooler before following Dean.

“What about the chairs?”  Beth giggled. Dean quickly grabbed them, tossed everything into the trunk and they hit the road. 

 

Beth found herself in the same spot as always, reclining on the backseat.  Her earbuds were in with the music blasting on high. She never even heard the two brothers speaking to one another, and as she relaxed, the rocking motion of the car drifted her off into a light sleep.

Sam peeked back as he stretched his legs out ahead of him.  It was good that he and Dean were close in height since the bench seat in the front only went back so far, enough to give his six-foot plus length some room to move.

“Hey, Sammy,” Dean questioned, as Sam’s head hit the back of the seat.  Sam opened his eyes and turned his head in Dean’s direction. “You were okay with that back there, right?  I mean, I don’t want to overstep with her.”

“Come on, really.  This is you and Beth, I know what’s going on and I don’t have a problem with you goofing around.”  Sam was a little shocked but completely amused that Dean would be so worried about it. “Oh and congrats on getting your ass handed to you by a girl.”

“What?  I totally let her win!”  Dean piped up.

“Yeah, tell that to the bruise in the middle of your forehead.”  Sam leaned his head back again, having seen Dean check the rear-view for the bruising, and smiled.  “Hey, where are we going anyway?”

“I don’t know.”  Dean sighed. “The anniversary is coming up. I know Beth wants to go back to pay her respects and everything, but maybe we should just take it easy for a few days, let her relax.  If I remember correctly, there were some old fishing cabins on a road off of Lake Champlain about an hour or so from here. We could always get a lakefront one for a few days and just let things simmer down.  After everything with the harpies, I know I could really use some downtime.”

“I haven’t found much on how to summon an Olympian God either, I guess we could all use some time to gather things together.”  He looked up in the mirror, staring at Beth’s sleeping face and smiled. “I hope she won’t have an issue with it.”

“Nah, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

 

Beth stood beside the Impala as Sam pumped gas and Dean went into the station for directions to the cabins.  She had her arms crossed and a mad pout on her lips.

“Fishing?”  She questioned for about the fifth time since she was told what was going on. Sam gave her a pleading look and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, fine! But, really if I’m catching, you’re cooking.”

“Okay.” Sam grinned and watched as Dean walked out, with a big wide smile on his face and two bags full of groceries.  “Did you get everything?”

“Yep, and the keys to the cabin, turns out the guy multitasks.”   Dean looked down at Beth. “Are you still pissed?”

“Are you still a jerk?” She questioned, enunciating the last word before she turned and got back in the car. 

“Skank.”  Dean mumbled as he rolled his eyes, placed the bags in the trunk and headed for the driver’s seat.

“Ho!” Beth grumbled and then coughed to cover it up.

“Okay, what are you both, two-years-old?”  Sam laughed. Dean started up the car and looked at his brother.

“She started it.” 

Sam smiled at the seriousness in his voice and shook his head.

 

The cabin was nestled on a bank near the edge of Lake Champlain.  Other small cabins could be seen from where this one sat, but it was the biggest one there.  Two floors, three bedrooms, a large deck, and sliding glass doors, not to mention the dock out back with some lounge chairs.  Dean smiled as he looked at the site before grabbing the bags. Beth and Sam had several bags themselves as they all headed inside.  The living room was large, but served as a dual purpose space including part of the dining room. The kitchen was set off in another area.  There was a bathroom and laundry room on the first floor, a full bath on the second, and open stairs that led to the bedrooms.

Beth found her way to the smallest of the three rooms, which had a view of the lake, and placed her stuff down on the bed.  Sam stepped into the doorway to watch her as Dean yelled up to them from the kitchen about how much help he realized he wasn’t getting. Beth turned and looked at the man who loomed in her doorway.  His hair was in his eyes, as always, hiding that devilish stare. The corners of her mouth were perked up into a sly smile as she eyed him from head to toe. His hands were nestled deep in his pockets, not at all hiding the obvious evidence of her effect on him. Beth stared at the light tee-shirt he wore which accented his muscled chest and abs nicely.

“So,” she grinned, licking her lips, “are you going to come in, or are you going to stand in my doorway lurking like creepy stalker?”

“Huh?” He straightened and gave a glance behind him. “Me? You don’t mind if I come in?”

“No,” she winked.  “Not at all.”

Sam closed the door softly behind him and took his time getting to where she stood by the bed.  He looked around the room, nodded at the décor, and ran his fingers along the edge of the lamp, all for the sake of teasing her. It worked because Beth just watched the way he moved with awe.  When he stopped before her, he took his hands out of his pocket and ran both of them up her arms until he was able to place them softly upon her neck. He leaned down and kissed her, gently at first, but as it wore on, the passion grew, intensifying their needs.

He placed one hand under her ass and lifted her as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged her close to his body. Her legs enveloped his hips, locking her ankles behind his waist. He turned her towards the bed, and gently placed her, along with himself, down upon the soft mattress. For a moment, he pulled away and looked deep into her eyes.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”  He breathed against her lips. “I don’t know if I can stop myself this time.”

“I’m sure.”  She sighed against him and Sam captured her mouth once more.

His kisses were frantic, as if he had been waiting his whole life for this moment. She let those lips travel where they wanted, and sucked in a breath, trying to keep as quiet as possible, when the gentle kisses became nips at her skin.  He grabbed at her shirt, pulling it swiftly over her head as she did the same for him. The moan that left his throat as their skin touched made her bite her lip.

Her heart beat wildly as Sam kissed down over the length of her body until the rough fabric of her jeans stopped him.  His fingers fumbled with the button, and the zipper caught as he tried his hardest to be gentle with large, shaking hands.  She smiled up at him when he sat back and pulled them from her legs, but it was his mouth crushing down on hers that made her moan.

His jeans fell to the floor beside hers as the kisses wore on, and his hands glided over her body. She hadn’t felt the kind of heat he was creating for a very long time, and it almost ended for her way too soon.  Flesh against flesh with nothing to stop their touch, Sam felt completely tangled within her. The sheets twirled around them as her warmth devoured him but he couldn’t let her go, his hands, his mouth, and his body were utterly helpless to her touch. His sweat-drenched hair pressed against her forehead as he felt his body climbing and she trembled beneath him as the sounds of her pleasure were hot and heavy in his ear.  

Her fingers dug into his shoulders and Sam clenched his jaw as he closed his eyes tightly, letting go of everything and sinking into her completely.  When he was able to breathe, he found that the only thing he wanted to do was take in her scent, let her body stay wrapped around his, and listen to the beat of her heart.

Beth closed her eyes, the rush he had given her was beyond anything she could have imagined.  Teenaged Sam was wonderful, the one she had wrapped in her arms now was amazing and for the first time in a long time, she was content to just lay there and enjoy him.

The bang on the door startled them both and Beth picked her head up.  Apparently they had fallen asleep, and their positions reversed. She lay to his side, his arms still around her, with one of her legs across his waist.  Sam moaned as the knock struck the door again.

“What, DEAN?”  He screamed, not wanting to open his eyes.

“Nothing.”  He yelled through the door with a laugh in his voice before they heard him taking off down the stairs.

“What…an…asshole!” Sam mumbled and pulled her close. As much as she wanted to enjoy the moment, she was now wide awake and there was no way she was dozing off again.  She kissed him softly on the lips and slid off the bed, with the sheet. Sam pretended to cry out in frustration. “Oh my God, I hate him so much.” He grumbled and watched her smile as she slipped out the door to the shower across the hall. 

 

Dean peered up over the end of his grinder at Sam who made his way into the kitchen, straightening out his hair with just his hands.  Sam watched as Dean grinned at him the entire time while he made a coffee and leaned against the counter. After several long moments of staring, Sam caved.

“Really?”  The younger of the two questioned.  That was all he said but it brought an even bigger smile to Dean’s face.  

“Boom-chicka-wow-wow.”  Dean chuckled and ducked as the box of brillo pads barely missed his head.  He sucked on his teeth, as if to get something out from between them and shook his head. “Sammy, you two have got to get a little more adventurous, I didn’t hear a thing.”

“It wasn’t for your listening pleasure.”  Sam rolled his eyes and unsure why Dean’s attitude about it was bothering him.  They had so many of these conversations in the past, but this one just seemed to hit a nerve.  In fact, he wasn’t even sure what to say next. Suddenly, it hit him, a sharp pain in his left temple as if a nail was being hammered into it.

The coffee cup dropped from the counter to the floor and Dean stood up quickly.  “Sammy?” He ran over, supporting his brother as Sam rested against the cabinets still pressing his hands against his head.  “SAM?” This time it came out more of a cry for help, but Sam was usually the one HE called. “What’s going on? Come on, talk to me.”

Sam’s memories flooded in.  Him at six with Beth, at ten, at thirteen and then that night as he stood and kissed her head one last time.  Tears streamed down his face. They weren’t full memories, just flashes of them and as heartbreaking as it was to see them, it was beautiful.  The pain receded and Sam was able to put his head back enough to look at Dean, at the concern in his brother’s eyes and at the helplessness he felt.

“I saw us.”  Sam whispered, as Dean’s hand clamped down on his shoulder, tears running down Sam’s face.  “Beth as she grew, she’s so amazing.”

Dean smiled, sighing with relief.  “She still is.”

“I need to know more, I need to remember everything.” Sam rolled his eyes as he looked away.

“Shagging more isn’t going to make memories come out.” Dean replied, and he was serious, no matter how crass his reply was. “Maybe it’s your feelings now, maybe it’s because you’re starting to love her again.”

Sam ran a hand through his hair, wiped the tears from his face and composed himself.  He took a deep breath and nodded at Dean, who took the hint that it was time to clean up.  They collected the pieces of the broken cup, and Dean found some paper towels to clean up the spill. Sam poured another cup, with a not so shaky hand, just as Beth came down the stairs and offered it to her. She accepted the cup from Sam and sat down at the table with Dean, who was still going at the grinder he had earlier.

“So,” Beth spoke up, looking down at her coffee cup.  “Here we are at this beautiful cabin with a few days to spare before the dreaded…I’m not even sure what to call it.  What are we going to do with ourselves?”

“Well,” Dean sat back and finished what was in his mouth, “you two have each other to do stuff with and I have a trusty bottle of KY and some magazines.”

“Really, Dean?”  Sam asked, a bit disgusted, but Beth snickered.  

“Touché.” She gave a light lift of her cup in his direction.  “What I mean is: really what the hell are we going to do with ourselves if we’re not hunting?”

“How about dinner?”  Dean suggested. “A movie night on the couch, a round of drinks and a dirty card game?”

Beth understood suddenly and smiled.  “Sounds like a perfect plan.” Her eyes met Sam’s over the cup as she brought it to her mouth.  “But,” she eyed them both, “who’s cooking?”

They turned to one another and set up for a game of rock/paper/scissors, and Beth laughed as they did the best two out of three.  Sam lost for the first time in a very long time. He slipped out from behind the table and walked towards the kitchen to see what was in the refrigerator and the cabinets.  While Sam was in the other room, Dean turned to Beth with a big grin on his face.

“Not a word, not a question, and don’t even think about it.”  She smiled as the words were stopped before they even left his mouth.

“We’re family, Beth, you can confide in me.”  He laughed.

“Confide in you?” She snapped, her voice low as they leaned closer across the table.  “Dean, every time I “confided” in you before, you teased me with it for the next week.  There is no way that I’m going back to being a teenager and having you pick on me for my sex life, or hell, your lack thereof, just like when we were kids.”

“Hey, I had a sex life.”  Dean grumbled.

“Yeah you and Rosie Palm.”  

He focused on her for a moment before speaking again. “I never told Serena.”  He said, his voice full of seriousness. Beth peeked up at him from the cup. Dean sat back in the chair, the silliness gone from his face.  “I never told her what we talked about.”

“Dean, that was years ago.”  

“Still, I wanted you to know.  Everything you told me, it stayed between you and me.”

“So why did you say you told her?”  The anger in her voice slipped out. “You made me believe you betrayed me to my sister, the high Queen of “Perfection”.”

“I was jealous.”  Dean admitted. 

“SAM!”  Beth yelled and watched as he peeked his head around the corner of the kitchen.  “Dean’s going with me for a walk, unless you want help in there?”

“No, go ahead.  I have an idea and I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”  Sam smiled. 

Beth stood, skipped over and kissed him sweetly before she met Dean at the door. 

 

They were down and away from the house before either spoke again.  Dean had his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat and Beth let her hands swing free.

“You were jealous so you told me that you told my sister that Sam and I were sleeping together?”  Beth questioned, she took a moment to ponder it before she turned her eyes to Dean. “Explain to me exactly how that makes any sense.”

“Your sister was shutting me out.  I mean, she started to not long after we turned ten or so, I think she saw us as a problem but you were always there for me, even when you had Sam.  Yes, I was jealous because of how close you and Sam got.”

“And making up bullshit was the best way for you to handle it?” 

“I was nineteen.”  Dean stopped and stared down at her.  “You were in love, you both were happy and I wanted that.  I wanted the normal relationship that you two had. So sue me.”

“Our relationship was anything but normal Dean, I was best friends with my boyfriend’s brother, not with my boyfriend…who the hell does that? But I fell in love with him. Normal is not something either of our families did well but to me, you and Sam were the most normal parts of my life.”  Beth sat down in the grass, an action that took Dean a moment to follow. “I hate memories.”

“You and me both.” Dean watched as she laid back on the grass and looked at the sky.  “Hey, what do you think Sam’s going to do when he remembers everything?”

“Shoot me, and then shoot you.” She replied with total honesty.  Beth turned her head towards him and shrugged. “What he’ll remember is that the last two weeks our families were together was total hell for all of us, anything before that, well…”

“He said he remembered you as you grew.”

“What?” she asked, sitting up. “When?”

“While you were in the shower, he acted like his head was going to explode and he said he remembered you growing up.”  Dean’s pouty lips drew out to a straight line. “I don’t know what that means and I don’t think you should ask him.”

“Then why would you tell me?”

“We’re family, we don’t keep secrets.”  Dean stood up and started back towards the house.  

She was a bit confused about what secrets she was keeping from him but at that point men were just as annoying and confusing as boys. She decided they could both choke on it, while her hands grasped a fistful of grass and she watched the clouds.

She must have dozed a little because the next thing she saw was a shadow that blocked out the light.  “Ugh, Winchester!” She moaned, as if to scold Dean for disturbing her.

“I’m sorry but no.”  Castiel’s deep voice answered. Beth opened her eyes to the dark-haired angel that stood above her and rubbed her forehead.  “We need to talk.”

“Well here’s the best place, because back at the house is full of irritating men, no offense.”  Beth watched as he looked around, then sat down on the ground.

“No offense taken.”  

“So, what’s up?  Have you found out any more about the Olympians?”

Cas shook his head and glanced around with curiousness. “Why are you laying in an open field?”

“It was more comfortable than the roof of the Impala,” she replied with sarcasm and watched as he innocently cocked his head. “Seriously, what do you need to talk about?”

“How’s Dean?”

“He’s your boyfriend, you could just pop in and check on him.”  She snapped, unsure as to why she was getting upset with the man in front of her.

“We’re not together.”  

“Sorry,” she shook her head and thought of how to explain it.  “It’s not a term of relationship, it’s like a family gesture. He’s a boy and he’s your friend…look, forget it, just tell me what you need talk to me about.”  Castiel waited on her answer. “Dean is fine, okay. He had a few nightmares but he’s recovering well.”

“Good.”  Cas nodded, and the silence dragged on before he turned to her again.  “I haven’t found who summoned the Olympians but I do know one thing. I believe they are targeting you, the three of you, to get to me.”

“I don’t understand, you’re not one of the North Winds.”  

“I know but we resemble them and since there are no North Wind gods left, we seem to be their next target.”

“Cas, you really need to be careful.  Greek gods are not to be played with.”  She ran her hands down her face in frustration then stared up at the sky.  “What about the Harpies?”

“Going back through the town there isn’t anyone powerful enough to cast a spell that large.”

“Crowley? Rowena?”  She questioned and watched as he shook his head.  “I’m not asking if you think they summoned them, I’m asking if you asked either of them for help.”

“I haven’t, but you should.”

“Yeah, let me get right on calling the King of Hell.”  Her sarcasm rang through. “That’s a big no-no. He used to be a crossroads demon and let me tell you, he could probably broker me into a deal that would give me one day before those hounds tried to get at me.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“Why not?  He’s Crowley.”

“And you’re a Winchester.”  Castiel replied. That statement alone stopped her in her tracks.  “Family doesn’t end with blood.”

“I know what Bobby said!”  She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.  “So now all we need to do is find a witch or demon with enough power to summon, hold, and order around some of the oldest gods in mythology. Perfect.”  When she looked up Castiel was gone so she shook her head as she let it flop back. “I hate men!”

“Why?”  Sam’s voice whispered and she turned to look at him.

“Bad dream.”  She replied and stood, reaching for his outstretched hand.  The two of them walked back to the house. Whatever he had cooked smelled delicious so the three of them sat down together to eat.  

 

The conversation was about everything and anything that didn’t pertain to the past, or their present situation. Dinner was delicious, even though it was just Mickey Mouse pancakes with syrup. Sam had put a lot of effort into them. They curled up on the couch, all three of them, to watch some sort of cheesy drama flick, before Dean peeked out the window and suddenly excused himself.  Sam looked on curiously as Dean stepped just past the light from the back patio. 

“What do you think he’s doing?”  Sam questioned as he leaned his chin on Beth’s head.  She decided because she finally had room on the couch to stretch out, she could lay down and put her head on Sam’s lap.

“Talking to Cas.”  She said nonchalantly.  Sam looked down at her and she smiled up at him.  “You haven’t noticed, about this time every night he goes off to be alone and he doesn’t take any porn mags with him?  He’s praying.”

“To Cas?”  Sam glanced out again and nodded.  “You know him pretty well.”

“It’s just an observation, Sam, I watch what you do too.”  She laughed. “For instance, when you sleep, you slide your hand ever so slightly down the front of your pants.”

“I do not!”  He argued and watched as she gave a wide grin.

“So let your brother be.”  Sam watched her face as she turned just her head back to the movie and continued to watch in silence.

 

The next morning, while the smell of coffee wafted through the house, Dean sat on the edge of his bed, clothed in a tee-shirt and boxers.  His night had been plagued by nightmares and dream walks with the angel, strange brightly colored ones. He knew that Castiel liked the old paintings and they didn’t creep him out as much as the last one when they were walking on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, with the rows of pews above his head.  That one freaked him out, but he enjoyed that he was getting to actually talk with the man.

A knock on the door broke him from the spell he was under and he turned his head to look at Beth who was peeking around the door jamb.

“Breakfast is done.”  She said quietly and watched him nod.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a long night.” 

Beth stepped in and walked over to sit next to him on the bed.  “Today will be better, I promise.”

“Thanks, but, I’m just taking it as it comes.”  He shrugged. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before getting up to walk away.  Dean stopped her as he took her hand in his. “Beth, thank you.”

“That’s what I’m here for, butthead.”  She gave him a few wiggles of her eyebrows and exited the room.  

He had to believe that she was right.  The depression was wavering and seeing Cas had made some of it go away but he was still having nightmares about the harpies and that wasn’t a good thing for him.  He usually could kill and forget but these ones stayed with him. With a deep exhale, he moved off the bed and proceeded to get dressed. It was time to start the day.

 

Mid-morning

 

Two bright-yellow Adirondack chairs were set up just about ten feet from the edge of the long wooden dock with a small table in the middle.  Sam once again found himself relaxing, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, as he watched Beth fish. Well, kind of fish. She sat with her back to him, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, fishing pole in hand as she watched the calmness of the lake. She wore her usual, a black tank top that let the sun kiss her skin, but this time had on some light jean capris and sandals.  Sam could see ink marks where her shirt rose just above the back of her jeans.

“Our little Beth has ink.”  Dean smiled as he sat down beside him, adorned in a light gray tee-shirt, blue jeans and completely barefoot.  “I wonder what it is.”

“It’s a tribal of some sort.”  Sam confessed and watched as Dean’s head whipped in his direction.  The older brother stared in disbelief that Sam had this information and he didn’t.  Sam smiled as he focused on Dean for only a moment. “Perks of sending you to the store when she’s taking a shower, I get to watch her change.”

“You’re a perv, dude.”  Dean smiled and sat back in the chair.  “A tribal, I wonder why?”

“Why don’t you just ask her, Dean, it’s not like she’s going to bite your head off.”

“Speaking of which, did you notice how she’s been lately?  Sometimes she’ll kiss you and sometimes she’ll try to kill you.  It’s like working with two different people.” 

“It’s only because you get under her skin.”  Sam chuckled. “Remember, she’s been alone for a long time.  Try to imagine what it would be like for you to suddenly be stuck with two men.”  Dean’s mouth curled up into a look of disgust. “I would have said two women but you’d like that.  Anyway, you’re space is invaded and you have little privacy, where before you had the whole thing to yourself.”

“We could start getting another room for her.”  Dean suggested, but the look on both their faces said exactly what they were thinking. “Nope, never mind.”

“Isn’t going to happen.”  Sam added. Dean looked at his bottle, then over at Sam’s.

“This relaxing thing is exhausting.  I’m going to grab another beer. You want one?”

“Yeah, my turn to get them though.”  Sam volunteered. Dean didn’t argue as the younger Winchester grabbed the empty bottles and moved back towards the house.  

Dean sat forward, watching the way that Beth sat quietly on the dock, he took in the way that the wind blew her hair and how she shivered when it crossed her face.  There was just something still mesmerizing about the woman before him, but strangely enough, it didn’t bring up the feelings of desire he usually got from admiring someone like her.  

 

Beth followed the flow of the current with her eyes. She wasn’t really in the mood for fishing but she knew that the two of them would have been asking her twenty-questions if she was just sitting on the dock doing nothing.  She hadn’t even baited the line. There wasn’t a hook, just a weight to hold it down. She liked to fish, she hated the gutting part, which you would think was odd because of her line of work. She thought about what Castiel had said to her, something was summoning Olympians to target the Winchesters, but who and how exactly were they going to find the source of that kind of magic?  

Crowley wasn’t an option, she had met that man before and there was no way she wanted to play with that kind of fire again, but Rowena, now there was a bit of black magic she could get into.  The woman was a walking book of knowledge and a spell as big as an Olympian trap would be some old school witchcraft, that was a definite. The only issue was, how did she find her? She rested her chin against her knees and took in the quietness of the lake, in fact, that was when she noticed it was too quiet.

There weren’t any frogs or katydids chirping, there wasn’t anything at all except the wind in the trees.  That was when she saw it, a flash of silver under the water as it swam by. She tried not to jump, not to alert the boys that she had just been scared by what she thought was a fish, but were there really ones that big where they were on Lake Champlain?  She knew there would be trout and salmon but nothing shined like that did.

The second pass it took, she got a look at just how big it really was.  Placing her pole to the side, Beth leaned down further towards the edge of the dock. She gave a little start when it swam by the third time but thought nothing of it as a small piece of rope floated to the surface.  She had seen the horror movies, hell she had been in most of them, but the allure of reaching in and grabbing it tempted her too much to ignore. 

Her hand reached down into the cold lake water, grasping for the rope but it seemed to sink as she did so.  Getting aggravated with it, Beth pressed her chest down to the edge of the doc and gave it one good swing before it was in the palm of her hand.  It was then that she felt it, clammy, scaly fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled her into the icy water.

 

Dean stood up as Beth splashed down into the water.  “Beth!” He screamed and turned to the house. “SAM!!” And then he was off to the end of the dock.  He searched around the dock for a moment. “Come on, come on,” waiting for her to surface, but when she did, she was struggling to breath and was pulled back under.  Dean glanced up to make sure his brother was coming and dove into the lake.

 

Beth held her breath as long as she could while she fought with the demon that held her underwater.  It’s arm… Jesus, it had an arm… wrapped around her neck as she kicked at it with her feet. The chill of the lake was getting to her muscles and the burning in her chest told her that she wasn’t going to last much longer.

She elbowed whatever it was as hard as she could and finally hit something solid with enough force that the arm let up, allowing her to turn in her spot.  She came face to face with the scariest thing she had ever seen. It’s face was half fish-eyed, but it had the flowing hair of a woman. It’s mouth, if you could call it that, was wide with sharp rows of teeth, something close to a piranha.  Beth’s eyes went huge as she screamed out the air in her lungs, slamming her head against any part of the beast that she could. With the force behind it, the creature let go, but as it retreated, its fin-like tail whipped out and caught her across the chest, and blood began to pool around her.

She felt another arm around her waist and struggled once again, but this one pulled her to the surface and up to the dock. Dean held her against him, her back towards him, with one arm draped over her shoulder and the other around her waist.  Her shirt was destroyed and covered little if anything at all of her breasts, and she shivered staring out at the lake. 

Sam leaned down in front of her, covering her with a blanket as she coughed up water. Blood leaked everywhere and as if it would make her feel better, Dean kissed the side of her head, pressing his cheek against her as he regulated his own breathing.

“What happened?”  Sam questioned as Beth’s blue lips trembled.

“Mermaids.” She croaked, then coughed out more water, clearing her throat. “There’s freaking mermaids.”

Sam scooped her into his arms, as Dean caught his breath and rushed after him. Beth’s head lolled back against Sam’s shoulder as he did his best not to jostle her while he ran for the cabin.  He kicked open the loose door, not breaking the latch, and set her down on the couch. Dean rushed for the first aid kit as Sam looked for whiskey, water, a needle, and thread.

Dean sat down beside her and brushed the hair that was caked to the four slashes across her chest. He reached down and pulled the fabric up as far and as gently as he could, but she moaned in pain as he touched her skin.

“Beth, talk to me.”  He whispered as he brushed her hair back from her forehead.  Sam handed him the bucket of water, the only one of the items he had found so far, and a cloth, which Dean soaked. He rung out the excess liquid and ran it gently, but effectively over the wounds.

“OHHH!” She moaned but it was more of a warning to him that he was pressing to hard, and she struggled to open her eyes.  Her small hand set on his and Dean looked up into her blue ones. “Keep your fingers where I can see them, slick.”

Dean smiled widely but couldn’t reply.  He was afraid that if he did, at that very moment, she would hear the fear in his voice.  Sam sat down beside him and Dean handed him the rag, there wasn’t any need for words, Sam knew this was hard enough for him, so they switched places.  Sam could work through her groans as he cleaned out the jagged edges as best he could, and he didn’t mind as she grabbed his arm and dug her nails in.

He placed a towel over her body, pulling it up to cover as much of her chest as he could and still be able to get to the cuts, then slipped his hand under and cut off the rest of her tank-top.  Beth’s eyes locked on Sam’s as his fingers brushed her sensitive areas. As the corner of his lip turned up in a smile, she rolled her eyes. 

 

Dean paced behind the couch, where the room became a dining area, one arm across his waist, the other bent, with the side of his fist bouncing against his lips as he stared.  Sam looked up once, their eye contact had become a second language and Dean knew that the wounds weren’t life threatening but definitely serious.

Beth breathed through the pain, especially when Sam started with the needle that he had sanitized and curved for a smaller stitch.

“A cloth, damn it, give me one.”  She raised her hand above the couch and had Dean scurrying for a dry cloth to hand her.  She snatched it from his grip, placed it in her mouth and then reached once more for Dean.  She closed her fingers around his, clasping against his thick skin and squeezed her eyes tightly as Sam continued with the stitches.  She held out through almost a dozen of them but when he started with the second gash, this one much deeper than the first, Dean felt her hand go limp.

“Sam, she’s out.”  Dean whispered with worry in his voice. Sam nodded, tying off the stitch he was working on.

“It’s probably better that way, this one is going to be pretty bad.”  Sam sighed, dousing the needle with whiskey once more. “Did she seriously say mermaids?”

“Yeah,” Dean walked around and sat on the coffee table, his elbows on his knees as he watched Sam work his magic with the needle. The sutures were perfect and would leave less of a scar than the slices on her chest.  “Sam, I didn’t see anything when I was down there with her, but she screamed. It’s how I knew where she was, I could see the bubbles when she opened her mouth. I don’t know what she saw but if they were mermaids, they certainly weren’t the Disney princess kind.”

Sam felt her wince against the pinch of the needle and reached up to remove the cloth that hung loose in her mouth.  “Have you heard from Cas?”

“Not in a few days, and it’s hard to get ahold of him.” Dean pouted, his lips drawn taut. “Do you think she needs his help?”

“It depends on what she really saw down there and if they were really mermaids. Mythology depicts them were more like sirens but there might be something we don’t know. Venom in their cuts, on their scales?  It’s hard to tell right now.” Sam sighed.

“Great,” Dean snapped and got up, “well that’s just perfect!”

Sam looked up him as he paced angrily, swinging at the air as he mumbled under his breath.  “She’s not in trouble yet, Dean.”

“She’s laying there unconscious, Sammy, with you stitching up her chest, how could she not be in trouble?” Dean growled.  Sam frowned and went back to gently trying to close the wounds. Dean was grateful that Sam was the calm one right now because there was no way Dean was going to be able to control his emotions much longer.

It was a little over an hour before Sam was finished.  Beth was out through everything, including the burning liquor that should have had her sitting up straight, with how much it stung, but it was Sam’s light touches across the bottom of the bandage that got any kind of stir from her.

He was pressing down the paper-tape against her skin when she made a low noise in her throat and her head rolled to the side facing Sam.  Her hand came up and rested on his, trapping his fingers against her skin, and her blue-eyes peered out from under heavy lids.

“Hey Beth.”  He whispered, leaning down close to her.  She reached her free hand over and stroked her fingers through his hair, then traced his jaw.  “How are you feeling?”

“Like a mermaid attacked me with her tail.”  She replied in a soft voice. “Why do I smell like a distillery?”

Sam smiled, and kissed her, letting his lips linger on hers as she breathed him in. When he released her, he placed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.  “Of all the stuff we’ve seen, I would have thought that you would know to never reach for something in the water.”

“I couldn’t help it, I saw a rope and I thought of you.”  She replied, with a mischievous grin.

“You saw rope and thought of me?” He repeated. “Why?”

“I was going to tie you to the bed later.”  Sam sat back, his eyes wide as his face flushed, which made her giggle but wince in pain. “Ow.”

Dean heard her voice and ran into the room from the kitchen.  Sam looked up and smiled at his brother, who walked over slowly, peeking over the side of the couch. He was met with the bluest eyes he had ever seen, at least since the last time he had meet with Castiel, and he ran a hand down his face trying to wipe away the emotions.

“You scared the hell out of me, little girl.”  He smiled, brushing her cheek with his hand.

“Who you calling little, punk!”  She replied with little more than a whisper. Dean’s grin spread. Yep, she was going to be okay.  

“Hey,” he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.  “I love you but if you scare me like that again, I’ll strangle you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too, macho man.”  His smile faded as she moaned when she shifted, the grin and color instantly leaving her face.

“You can’t move too quickly.”  Sam sighed, placing her arm around his neck and he helped move her up to a more comfortable position.  “Better?” She gave only a slight nod and tried to catch her breath. The pain was almost enough to make her pass out again but she fought through the haze.  “You need some rest, Beth, why don’t you close your eyes and we’ll figure out something for dinner.”

“Are you two really going to play house right now?”  She gave a small smile and tried to keep her eyes open. The boys turned to each other and watched as she glanced down.  “Well, could I at least have a regular shirt, I mean, I’m comfortable and all but if this towel goes…no one needs my girls exposed.”

“I’ll get it.”  Sam smiled and moved from the couch.  Dean took his spot, one hand on the back of the couch, the other holding hers.

“Mermaids, Beth, really?”

She looked up to see if Sam had gone up to the room.  “Ugliest damn thing I have ever seen, Dean, but on my life, it was a mermaid.”

“I believe you.”  He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.  “God, Beth… I don’t know what I would do if…”

“Stop right there, Winchester!” she ordered, touching his chest with the tip of her fingers.  “I’m going to be fine, and as much as I could say stop worrying, you won’t but really, I’m going to be fine.” Sam came back into the room with one of his light shirts and the two of them looked at him.  Beth smiled at Dean. “You, get in back.”

The smile that crossed Dean’s face was pure, classic Dean, sly and happy and he jumped around to help her sit up.  Beth grimaced from the pain as she held the towel to her, while Sam helped her sit forward. He sat down with the shirt crumpled with the bottom opening in his hand.  She slipped both her arms into the sleeve holes, releasing the towel, and Sam positioned the shirt to cover her chest as he took the back portion and pulled it up over her head. 

Dean was staring at her back, not just the shape of her shoulder blades and the way her spine curved but the ink that was on it.  She didn’t just have a tribal, which was a running wolf, there was another tattoo on her left side. He reached out to grab the shirt Sam handed him, brushing his fingers along the tattoo as he pulled the shirt down.  It wasn’t as if he was purposely trying to get a rise out of her, it just intrigued him.

“Dean!” Sam snapped, and watched as Dean’s eyes popped up to meet his gaze. Dean lightly shrugged his shoulders and gave the shirt a tug, allowing Beth’s head through the opening. They helped her lay back to rest on several pillows.  Sam straightened out the shirt in front, which hid enough of her chest to keep it covered but also gave him access to the bandages. Just that small amount of movement had her worn out and she closed her eyes, breathing a light sound of relief.  Sam looked at his brother. “Kitchen.”

They let her rest in silence as Dean followed Sam into the small kitchen, just around the corner.  The younger of the two stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Dean. The look on Sam’s face told Dean that he had stepped over the line, he agreed, but there was something about that tattoo.

“What exactly was that?”  Sam questioned.

“What?” He tried to sound innocent.  

“The fingers on her back?  What the hell, man?”

“Look, I’m sorry, Sammy,” he pleaded, which was completely out of character for him.  “But did you see her tattoo?”

“Yes!” he snapped, “Dean, did you hit your head coming out of the water?  We talked about it earlier.” Dean’s mouth thinned in frustration.

“Not the tribal, which is a running wolf by the way, but the other one?”  Sam gave him a confused stare which made Dean walk behind him. A shiver went through Sam’s back as Dean counted up his ribs then jabbed his finger into the space just between ribs five and six in the middle of his left side.

“Right here, there’s one.”  Dean stated, and twisted his finger a little, causing Sam to wince. Dean walked back around to face his brother, eyebrows raised.  “It’s like the anti-possession tattoo, same as ours, pentacle, sun, yada, yada…but there’s a faint shading there. At first, I thought I was seeing things but there are wings on her back.”

“Wings?”  Sam inquired, raising his eyebrows as he crossed his arms and nodded.  “Sure.” Dean waited for his response to get more in depth. “It’s a tattoo, Dean.”

“They’re angel wings, Sammy! Like full-on Castiel wings.”  Dean shook his head. “Just look next time, I’m not over-exaggerating.”

“Fine.”  Sam grumbled and went to leave the room. He stopped in the entryway and sneered back at Dean.  “Don’t touch her like that again.”

Dean was shocked.  Sam’s jealousy had never been an issue, and Dean wasn’t even making it sexual but he heard the seriousness in Sam’s voice and all he could do was nod.  The younger of the two left the room and Dean ran his hands through his hair.

 

     The boys were able to move Beth upstairs with little discomfort to her.  Sam sat in the small chair at the edge of her bed,and refused to leave her side.  His ankles were crossed on the bed, his arms across his chest and his head was back against the seat.  Dean knew, as he stood there at the footboard, that if he made a sound, his brother would wake, so he just watched.  He watched the way Beth’s eyes darted back and forth, the way her fingers jumped as if she were struggling with the monster all over again, and his heart pounded against his ribs.

He hadn’t meant to piss of Sam, in fact he still wasn’t sure what he had done wrong, but he had a feeling in his stomach that after they had slept together, things were going to change.  He wasn’t wrong. Sam was just as protective of her back when they were teenagers, more so now that he had the height, the muscle and training behind it. Dean hoped that Sam remembered he wasn’t the enemy.  He wanted nothing but to protect her too.

_ Dean! _ A voice called out to him and Dean walked to the window.  Cas stood outside in the moonlight looking up at him. He gave a slight gesture with his head and disappeared into the darkness.  Dean walked silently out of the room and made his way down the stairs, where he grabbed his checkered shirt before heading out into the night.

Cas stood down by the edge of the water, where the grass met the sand, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat.  He never looked at Dean, as the man stepped up beside him, but he knew he was there.

“How is she?”  Castiel questioned, and looked at his friend.

“She’s in pain, Cas, can you help her?”  

“Unfortunately, no, the barbs on the end of a water nymph’s tail contain a poison that even angels can’t cure.” Dean felt his knees weaken at the sound of Castiel’s reply but he tried to breathe through the dizziness that clouded his mind.  “There is one way to cure her, at least only one that I have found so far. We have to kill the nymph, and that can be done with salt.”

“Really?”  Dean looked at him, not confused but unsure of his friends answer.  “What do we have to do, pull her out of the lake and salt her like a leach?”

“Actually, that sounds like a great plan.”  Cas nodded and looked over the water once more.

“I was being funny, Cas.”  Dean placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky in frustration. “You don’t have anything else?”

“The old legends say that if you can catch one and cut off its hair, it dies.”

“Like cutting the stem of a plant?” Castiel nodded and the two of them walked back towards the house.  “Cas, what about salt on her wounds, would it stop the poison from spreading?”

“It would slow it down, in theory.”  He responded. “Dean, she doesn’t have much time.  You and Sam are going to have to find this thing and bring it onto shore to kill it.”

“I know, Cas, I know.”  With that, the angel was gone once more.  Dean clenched his jaw, knowing Sam was not going to like this news.  As he entered the living room he could see the glow from a laptop screen in the kitchen and made his way slowly towards the dark doorway.  Once he rounded the corner, he could smell the whiskey and looked at Beth as she leaned over the counter. Her lower arms were resting on it, and her head was down with a rocks glass in her hand full of amber liquid.  “Hey, slick.”

“Dean?” she whispered, her breathing labored.  He flipped on the light and watched her squint at it. “I needed something for the pain.”

“Yeah, well,” he slipped the glass from her hand, “this isn’t going to help.  It’s only going to thin your blood out and give you a hangover.” He dug through the medicine kit and placed it down on the dining room table before he walked back over and helped her to a chair.  Handing her two pain pills and a glass of water, Dean sat down across from her. “I spoke to Cas.”

“I figured.”  She smiled. “This isn’t going to get any better is it?”  Her voice cracked. She had been researching things while he was outside, but it was more of a question to confirm her fears.  Dean shook his head. “Well, there is no way we’re finding the Caduceus or Labrys anytime soon so we’re going to have to come up with a plan.”

“He said salting the wounds might stop the poison from spreading.” Dean eyes took in every movement she made and set it to memory, even as she lay her head down on her arm and stared at him with blue eyes.  “We’re going to need a boat and some fishing nets. Big fishing nets. I’ll go into town and see what I can find in the morning. We need you to get back into bed before Sammy comes down screaming.”

She nodded and watched as he walked over.  He knelt down to place one arm under her knees as she wrapped her arm around his neck.

“Dean,” she whispered, so faint that he barely heard her.  “I’m scared.”

“Me too, kid.”  He said lifting her into his arms.  She placed her head against his chest, listening to the thump beneath his shirt.  “Me too.”

“Don’t tell Sam.”  This time her voice was even softer, giving Dean the impression that the pills were kicking in.

“I won’t.” He answered and carried her up the stairs.  With a soft sigh, he lowered her down onto the bed and tucked the covers up around her, before he kissed her softly on the forehead.  Sam shifted his feet and Dean noticed his eyes were open. “She’ll be out for a while, I gave her something for the pain.”

“Dean,” Sam sat forward.  “We have to do something, this isn’t going to get better.”

“Funny, you’re the third person to tell me that tonight, and I’ve heard just about enough of it.”  His voice deepened with the anger he felt, and he quickly left the room. Sam followed close behind and stopped him just before the patio door.

“Who else told you that?”  Sam snapped.

“Castiel.”  Dean shook his head.  “And Beth. These things, these Olympians, they’re not playing, Sam. There is no cure for her unless we catch the damn thing, which is exactly what I plan to do.”

“No cure? What about Cas?”

“Whatever this is, it’s immune to angel powers.  Hell, why do you think he couldn’t stop the Harpies? Sam, this magic, these…Gods, are older than the angels.  Aside from archangels, we have nothing on our side that can stop the poison that is spreading through her veins.”  Dean was pissed and Sam could tell it wasn’t going to end well. “We have to drag the cove and bring the bitch to dry land.”

“And exactly how are we going to lure it to us?”  

“It’s a water nymph, and you do it probably the same way you lure most nymphs.  Sex.” Sam stared at him as if he were insane but crossed his arms and listened anyway.  “They lure men to their deaths, right, against the jagged rocks?” Sam nodded, eyebrows raised.  “Hey don’t be surprised, I read the Odyssey. We need to get it lured out towards the dock.”

“Pheromones?” Dean shrugged and Sam shook his head.  “There’s got to be a better plan than sex, Dean.”

“Beth.” Castiel’s voice spoke up behind them, making the two of them whip around to face him as he stood in the dining room.  “Beth will draw her out.”

“I am  _ not _ putting Beth back in that water!”  Dean growled, and Sam glared at him.  “And I swear, Sam, if you agree with that half-assed plan of putting your girl in danger just to draw that thing out, I will kick your ass.”

“What if it’s the only way to save her?” Sam questioned, actually unsure of what to do.

“I swear to God, Sam.”  Dean sneered, as his hands curled up into fists.  

Sam turned to Cas. “What makes you think that it will bring the nymph out?”

“It’s not just poison, it’s a virus.  She’ll either die from it, or she’ll turn into one.”  Cas replied and watched the anger grow in Dean’s eyes.  

“Dean’s right, we can’t put her in harm’s way again, she’s not strong enough.”  Sam agreed but Dean could see the wheels turning in his head. “How much of her has to be in the water?”

Dean walked straight up to him and sent a fist flying, catching Sam across the cheek.  The shock of the strike sent Sam stumbling back, even as the pain began to grow. He stared at his brother and watched as Dean walked out of the room, up the stairs and slammed the door shut.  Sam knew he was angry but never thought that Dean would actually hit him. Sam moved his jaw, making sure everything was intact and stared up at the second floor.

“Don’t you dare use the Harpy thing as an excuse for what he just did.”  Sam growled.

“Actually, I think his actions are justified.”  Castiel acknowledged and watched as Sam shook his head.

“I’m trying to save her.”

“You can’t save her, Sam, she has to save herself.  The two of you go back and forth over her, why do you do that if you both love her?” Cas asked confused.

“I don’t know.”  He replied with aggravation, still touching the swelling spot on his face.  “Dean seems so overprotective and I can’t seem to find that part of me yet. She’s more than just another hunter, but maybe I’m not what she needs.  Maybe he is.”

“Human love is so confusing.”  Cas sat down at the table and stared at the man before him.  “If you care anything about her, then do everything in your power to help, but Sam, she needs to be the one to make the call.  Nymphs are notorious for free will.”

Sam nodded and stood up. 

He left Cas sitting at the table and made his way up the stairs to Beth’s room before turning instead towards Dean’s. Without knocking, he entered and looked down at his brother, who sat on the edge of the bed. Dean’s elbows were on his knees as he leaned forward, pressing his thumb against the knuckles of the hand he had swung at Sam.

“What?” was the only thing that came out of Dean’s mouth, and it was drenched in anger.

“You had every right to hit me.”  Sam spoke up after a moment of watching him.  “I just don’t get why you’re so damned protective of her.”

Dean laughed, “you still don’t know yet.” It was more of a statement than answer.  “You still don’t remember everything.” He got up and stood not two-feet from his brother.  “When you remember, and I mean remember every…little…detail, you will understand why I’m this way with her.  I’m not getting in the way of your romance, or your hook-ups or anything in that department, but Sam, I will protect her with my life, even if I have to protect her from you.  I hope you understand at least that.”

“I’m not going to let her go in.”  Sam replied as Dean turned and moved towards the window.  “You do what you need to do to catch this thing, but I’m not going to use her as bait.” Dean nodded, but didn’t say a word as Sam backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.  

 

Sam watched Beth from the chair with Dean’s words vibrating through his mind.  He didn’t really know what was going on, not at all. He certainly didn’t understand Dean’s constant need to protect her, especially to the point he was at tonight.  Beth was a woman, a really strong hunter and Sam respected that. He had feelings for her but it wasn’t clear to him if he had them because he was told to, or because they were real.  

He let out a long breath as he moved to kneel beside the bed.  He took her hand in his and held it tightly as he pressed it against his lips.  He had lost so many people already, maybe that’s why he was having such a hard time opening up to her and letting the feelings flow.  Every time he found someone, they died.

Beth moaned, and swallowed hard, but her eyes fluttered open.  She reached up with her free hand and stared at the ceiling as Sam watched.  Her mouth moved, as if she were speaking to someone in a whisper but nothing came out.  Her lips turned up in a grin and she licked them before laughing. Sam’s first thought was that she was dreaming of Dean but when she said his name softly, he was curious about what she was seeing.

“It’s her sister.”  Cas spoke softly from the doorway.  “Her form looms above the bed.”

“How did you get in here?”  Sam questioned and stood, releasing Beth’s hand. Castiel pointed at the open doorway but watched the same spot with fascination as Sam stepped closer.  “You can see Serena?”

“Yes,” he stated, “which I admit is strange because if she had passed on, she wouldn’t be here right now.”

“So she’s not dead?”  Sam was confused.

“It looks more like an astral projection than a spirit.” Cas explained, but the strange smile on his face told Sam that whatever the projection was doing, it wasn’t being harmful.  Then again, his grin started to fade. “You need to wake her up.”

“Why?” Sam questioned as he walked over to the side of the bed.

“Sam, wake her up now!”  Cas ordered. Sam leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, whispering to her that it was time to take her medicine, time to eat breakfast. “It’s not working, Sam, try something else.”

“Elizabeth!”  Dean’s voice snapped as he came to a stop at the end of the bed, and Sam looked up.  Dean had heard the commotion and ran up the stairs. “Wake up! Right now!” Dean’s voice had never been so strict, so demanding, but Sam watched as the smile faded from her face and her arm lowered.  “Now, girl!” He belted out, “I said NOW!”

Beth’s eyes flew open and she drew in a deep breath as if she had stopped breathing at some point.  Her eyes were wide with fear and she looked around the room. Sam stared at Dean for a moment, watching the tears begin to well up in his eyes, the older one swallowed hard before leaving the room.  Sam took Beth’s hand and kissed it, trying to comfort the woman on the bed, but she was looking around, searching for something, or someone.

“It’s gone.”  Cas whispered low and Sam nodded.  

 

Morning came quickly and Beth forced herself out of bed.  She got an even bigger surprise when she found that Sam hadn’t moved a muscle from his position at her side.  She braced herself against the walls and leaned on the stairwell as she took one step at a time until she reached the bottom.  The shirt that Sam had put on her was bloodstained and she could feel the pinch of stitches against cloth. She was going to have to change that, but first she needed coffee.

The pot was ready to go, all she had to do with as push a button and she could hear it percolating. The boys were nice enough to leave bandages on the counter and she used a damp cloth to help remove the existing ones that had stuck to her skin.  She noticed the salt on the counter and remembered hearing somewhere in her dream state that they had hoped it would slow the poison. It was possibly too late for that but with the bandage open, she poured the salt over the inflamed wounds, feeling the instant burning as it hit. She struggled to catch her breath, and the counter before her legs gave out.  Breathing through the pain, she quickly patched the bandage over the wound to seal the salt in, but she knew it wasn’t going to be enough.

With a fresh cup of coffee and clean bandages, Beth made her way to the chair that faced the patio doors.  Dean must have sat in it for quite a while, all she could smell was his cologne, his scent, but he wasn’t there now so she imagined he was just like Sam, curled up somewhere asleep.

It was then that she heard the distinct sound of a shovel and used her left arm to push herself up from the chair.  She made her way out through the door and looked both ways before seeing a head of short dirty blonde hair pop up from the grass, then disappear again.  With a deep breath she began the small descent down the knoll to where Dean was digging. The mound of dirt around the three-foot deep hole in the ground made her curious.

She sat on the grass with a thump that sent pain waves through her body but she held her breath and squinted her eyes.  Dean was shirtless, which gave her time to look over his flawless back, noticing the way his muscles tensed and moved as he pounded the ground with the end of the shovel.  For a moment, he straightened, she watched the curves of each defined muscle and raise an eyebrow in appreciation. He was still, and had always been, one fine specimen.

He turned to get to the other side of the hole and spotted her, jumping a foot. “Jesus Christ!”  He yelped as he leaned on the shovel, his heart racing. “Could you not sneak up on someone holding a large pointy object.” Beth grinned, her eyes half closed from the strain of all the walking, lingered on his bare chest. “And stop looking at me like I’m a piece of meat!”

This made Beth laugh, but she coughed before catching her breath.  “What the hell are you doing?” Dean hopped out of the hole and sat down beside her, grabbing the water that lay next to the pile of dirt, and she pushed at him, which barely shook him.  “Oh my God, Dean, you wreak!”

“That my friend, is Man Odor.”  Dean said proudly. “Drink it in, Baby.”

“You’re gross.”  She smiled, but sighed, even talking was zapping the energy out of her.  “Again, what are you doing out here?”

“Digging a hole.”  He shrugged.

“Is that for me?”  The seriousness in her voice made him nearly drop the water and he snapped his head in her direction.  His dirty hand cupped her chin, turning her face in his direction. He stared down into her eyes, trying to hold in the fury he felt.  

“Never say that again, Beth, never.”  He kissed her on the forehead and tried to wipe the dirt from where his fingers had touched.  “It’s for the mermaid.”

“You know,” she said breathless, “when I said it, it sounded fine but when you say mermaid, it sounds kind of girly.”

“Keep it up, I’ll put you in there just to see how long it takes you to get out.”  He raised his eyebrows and stared at her. 

“So what’s the plan?”

“Kill the monster, save the girl, have a beer or two.” He shrugged.  “Then get the hell out of this creepy place.”

“Good plan.”  Dean looked at her, really took her in and sighed. 

Her skin was pale, there was no color to it except where the dark circle had taken over around her eyes, and the redness in the corner of them made her look sickly.  Her cheeks were sunken in and her lips had a bluish tint.

“What do you say we get you inside?  I know Sammy’s going to flip when you’re not somewhere in his direct line of site.”  Beth closed her eyes a moment, the thought of walking back up was exhausting enough let alone actually doing it. She nodded as Dean crouched down in front of her, placing his hands under her arms and helping her stand, but he left her at the patio door.  “Just sit there, I’m going to leave the door open so I can hear you.”

“Sure thing, Dad.”  She mocked, but the mention of it took him back to just a few hours before when he had yelled at her, just the way her dad did, and a frown came over his face.  Beth didn’t see it, she had already made her way to the chair and sat down. He turned, trying to keep the emotions in check and walked back towards the hole.

 

Sam came down the stairs not more than a couple of minutes after she had settled back in and walked over to her.  He leaned down and kissed her cheek as she sat with her head against the winged side of the chair, her legs tucked up against her, lightly sleeping.  Kneeling down, he took in her features, she looked worse than before, the poison was spreading. He could see the salt particles on the top of her shirt and sighed.  The sound of a shovel hitting the ground made Sam look up.

Dean’s swearing had him out the door and to the hole in the ground that his brother was just climbing out of.  “This is where we’re going to drag that bitch and burn her ass.”

“How do you even know we’ll catch her?”  Dean smiled and looked down at the lake. Sam could barely make out the line that ran from the shoreline to just past the dock but it was tied to two large, and very sturdy looking stumps.  “What is that?”

“Fishing net.”  Dean answered and pointed them out.  “The bottom, closest to the shore is tied up to the bottom of the stumps, and the top lines can be pulled in to trap her.  Once on shore, we do what Cas said, we salt and then we burn.”

“That’s your plan?”  Sam questioned, as Dean turned towards him.

“Yeah, you got a problem with it?”

Sam gave him a crooked grin, “actually, no, it sounds pretty fool-proof.”

“So now we just need to get it to come up to the net.”

“How big is this net?”

“Stretches from the dock to just where the cove meets the trees,about thirty-feet east.”  Dean watched as he looked at the stumps that were hidden further up the shore. “I found it in the basement when I went hunting around last night.  There’s a lot of tackle down there, just not anything a mermaid would want.”

“Hey, what happened last night?”  Sam turned to Dean as the older brother walked up to get his water.  “I mean you walked in, let in on her, and then walked away. What was that?”

“The best imitation of Paul that I could come up with at a moment’s notice.”  Dean grumbled, took a swig of water and moved back towards Sam. “You don’t remember yet, but he was a son of a bitch, especially to the two of them.   He was a hard ass, a drill sergeant, and given the chance I would have taken him out myself.”

“So why yell at her like him?”

“Best way to get her attention, I guess.”  Dean gave a quick shrug. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Dean, about…” just as he started to speak, a searing pain jabbed through his temple again and he was down on the ground holding his head.

“Sammy?”  Dean got down beside his brother and placed his hands on Sam’s face, turning him to look at him.  “Sam, talk to me.”

“I can see her,” he whispered through the pain.  “I can see Serena.”

“What do you see?”

To Sam it was as if he were watching a bad rerun.  He stood beside the door of the motel, the older sister frowning angrily at him, poking him in the chest, but it was the words that vibrated through him that caught his attention. “He hurts her and I will hunt you down.”  Not an unusual phrase for a hunter but this one was different, it seemed off. If who hurt her? The scene flashed to the night in the woods, when Sam ran up behind Dean and they watched through the bushes as Paul plunged the knife down into Beth’s heart, but that wasn’t all that happened.  Something came up behind Paul and snapped his neck, something cloaked in a dark black hood with the strength to break him like twig.

“Something killed Paul.”  Sam answered breathlessly.  “Snapped his neck when he killed Beth, or the shifter that looked like her.”

“I didn’t see that. I had to get to her, but the bushes were too thick.”  Dean whispered. “I never saw what happened to Paul. When I finally got to Beth, he was already dead.”

“It walked right up behind him and snap, he was dead.”  Sam’s pain disappeared and he shook his head, trying to clear his vision. “Paul knew she was a shifter, but Serena said something to me that doesn’t make any sense.  If he hurts her, she’d kill me? Was she talking about if you hurt Beth?”

“No, I don’t think so.”  Dean admitted. “Things between us, that was after Serena went missing.”

“Maybe it was her father then, maybe Serena knew something was going on.” Sam sat down on the grass.  It was going to be a long morning. “Uhh,” he moaned rubbing his temples. “I need coffee. Do you want some?”

“Might as well, this thing is as deep as it’s going to get.”  Dean pulled Sam from the grass and they made their way into the house.  Dean looked over at Beth’s sleeping form as he took off the muddy work boots before heading into the kitchen.  “After this, I think I’m going to steal the shower.”

“Yeah, man, you wreak.”  Sam laughed and watched as Dean rolled his eyes.

“Is it a regular thing now, repeating the obvious? Beth told me that not more than an hour ago.”

“She was right.”  

Dean nodded, and chugged down his coffee, which made him do a little dance because he didn’t realize just how hot it was, then headed up stairs.  The laptop was open and the screensaver popped on, Sam’s curiosity got the best of him and he sat down to look at the research that Beth had been doing.  It didn’t tell them anything they didn’t know already, which is probably why she gave up, but reading it made his heart drop and he realized that he might just lose her.

He got up from the table, and walked quietly to the chair where he had left her sleeping.  He just wanted to look at her, take her into his memory now but when he turned to face her, she wasn’t there.  Sam looked around frantically. He searched the house from top to bottom, thinking she had snuck by to use the bathroom but she wasn’t anywhere that he could see.  It was then that he looked outside.

Frozen in shock and horror, he spotted her slowly stepping along the beach sand, towards the water’s edge.  “DEAN!!!!” He screamed as if his life depended on it, the water upstairs hadn’t sprayed on yet and Dean came running out of the room, shirtless, but still dressed.  He stared down at where Sam was looking out the door. “DEAN!”

“What?”  

“She’s by the shore.”

“Son of a bitch!” He yelled and ran down the stairway.  “Go, go, go!” The two of them raced out the door and down the knoll.  Dean snatched up the bag he had left on the edge of the patio as he ran and they caught up to her by the edge of the sand.  “Beth!” Dean roared. “You need to stop!”

It was as if she were in a trance, she heard nothing, but stepped her foot into the water.  As if they were reading each other’s minds, both men were instantly on the ropes for the net.  It wasn’t a moment later that Dean turned to see Castiel holding the third line and they waited.

Sam scanned the water as something swam by, a silver glare against the water’s surface.  Beth only moved in deeper.

“Sam, you’re going to have to grab her.”  Dean ordered and watched his brother hesitate. “SAM!”  The younger one’s eyes were full of fear as he gave Dean a quick look before releasing the rope.  “Just take it slow, you don’t want to scare her.”

“Beth,” Sam whispered, “come back on shore.”

She was up to her knees when the water splashed just three feet from the furthest edge of the dock.  Sam looked back at Dean, who shook his head, hoping to keep him from entering the water until just the right time.  The splashing came closer.

“What does it want with her?”  Dean questioned, turning to Cas.  “Why her?”

“The virus is taking over, the nymph wants her new sister.”  Cas replied. “It creates a new nymph.”

“Well, I’ll be damned if she gets her.”  Dean growled and watched the way the movement of the water mimicked that of a shark edging to the top.  It wasn’t more than four feet from her, just far enough that Beth was out of its arms reach and he knew.  “Now Sam!”

Sam raced down, snatching Beth from the water as Dean and Cas pulled on the ropes as hard as they could.  The nymph moved to swim away, but the netting caught it before it could get past the lines. Like an alligator with its prey, the creature twirled within the confines of it trap, only rolling it further up into the confusion.

Sam lay back on the sand with Beth in his lap, watching the face of the beast before him and suddenly it was up on shore at his feet, reaching for the woman in his arms.  Sam looked down at Beth’s lifeless body. She wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing and quickly he scooped her up as Dean and Cas grabbed the net full of ugly beast.

The thing screeched as they brought it up to the pit in the ground and Dean took the shovel, pointed tip down, slamming it across its throat.  Beth had never described the fish-eyed woman with the mouth of a piranha, and he completely understood why, it was the stuff of nightmares. Cas spread lighter fluid over the headless body and the net while Dean dumped salt over it.  The fluid didn’t do much, but he was amazed at the sound of the skin crackling under the touch of the salt.

“Just like a leach.”  Dean whispered and sent the lighter into the pit, setting the thing ablaze.

“DEAN!”  Sam called which made him turn towards the beach.  They ran for Sam, where he held Beth in his arms. “She’s not breathing.”  He stated in a panic, moving her gently to the grass. “The thing’s dead, why is she not breathing?”

Dean placed his head to her chest and listened to the very faint beat of her heart.  He pressed his hands down upon her sternum and started compressions as Sam gripped his own hair, unsure of what to do.  Finally, he crawled over to her, next to her face and whispered in her ear.

“Come on, Beth, breathe.”  He coaxed as Dean continued the compressions.  Sam pinched her nose, tilted her head back and gave her two short breaths, watching her chest rise.  Dean wasn’t doing the compressions to keep her heart going, but it didn’t hurt. He was hoping that it would get a different reaction from her.  “Beth, listen to me,” Sam whispered, “you’ve got to come back. We can’t lose you.”

Castiel joined them on the beach, his coat and suit jacket discarded on the grass somewhere, and he took over compression for Dean, who gently ran his hand back over Beth’s forehead.

“Listen, you little pain in the ass, don’t you dare die.”  He said sternly as he pressed his lips to her forehead. “You can’t leave us here again.”  Dean backed away as Sam gave her two more breaths. “Dammit, Beth, you need to open your eyes!”

Sam switched with Cas this time, and the tears dripped down his face.  Why had he taken his eyes off from her? Why had he not grabbed her sooner?  Dean did the breaths this time, but still nothing. It had been five minutes, her heart still beat, but she wasn’t breathing.  There was nothing else to do but call the hospital.

“Can you heal her?”  Dean pleaded, but Cas shook his head, unable to say anything and looked at Sam.  “Call them.”

 

They continued the compressions until the ambulance arrived and watched, dazed as they loaded her onto a stretcher.  Dean followed quietly in the Impala, trying to think of anything else except the work they had been doing back there.  Did he lock the house, did he turn off the coffee maker, hell, did he remember deodorant? Anything but them pounding on her chest and the breaths that came from the bag mask they held against her face.

Sam was quiet, he couldn’t think, it was all just a jumbled mess of what he should have done.  The hospital waiting room wasn’t much of a better situation. There was annoying news on the TV, the crying of children, and the nurses and doctors passing by but no answers, not for hours. Not until the doors opened and the Emergency Department doctor walked out, heading right towards them.  Both Dean and Sam stood.

“Gentlemen,” his voice was grim and Dean looked up at Sam, “she’s stable, we have her on a breathing tube to help her out but her lungs were full of fluid, which is why she wasn’t getting any air.  There’s a machine that’s pumping out the last of what we couldn’t get. What about the gashes on her chest?”

“She was attacked by a dog on a walk the other day.”  Dean stated. “I told that to the nurse.”

“Well, they look like they’re healing fine, not sure what the salt was for but the stitching was done very well.  We have one of our plastic surgeons coming in to clean it up a bit.” He nodded. “You did a great job, probably saved her life.”

“Wait,” Sam spoke up as he turned to walk away, “can we see her?”

“She’s full of medication, probably high as the hills, but you can go in.  She won’t be able to talk because of the tube, and try not to get her too excited.”  He gestured with his head for them to follow and took them on a maze through the back halls of the ED until they came to a private room with a sliding glass door.  “Keep her as still as possible. She might tug at the lines but that’s normal.”

Both men nodded and stepped into the dark room.  Beth was hooked up to the tubes, a heart monitor and a blood pressure cuff.  Her heartbeat quickened as they walked in and she tried to smile around the tube in her mouth.  Sam and Dean each grabbed one of her hands and Dean instantly broke down. He placed his head on her bed and quietly sobbed.  Sam ran his hand through her hair and kissed her softly on the head.

“The doctor said you’re going to be fine.” His voice cracked with emotion and he smiled. “You had fluid in your lungs and they had to get it out, which is why you have a tube now.” 

She nodded slightly that she understood, slipped her hand out of Dean’s and placed it on the short light brown hair on the back of his neck as she continued to stare at Sam, waiting to hear what she needed. 

“It’s dead, the poison is out of your system.” Her body relaxed and the tears streamed from her eyes as she blinked them away.  “We’re going to stay right here beside you until you can come home.” Sam smiled and caressed her cheek. “We’re not going to leave you. Ever.”

 


	4. And the Thunder Rolls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam's memories are coming to the surface, but the closer they get to Carthage, the harder it becomes for Beth to admit this might be more than she can handle and even Dean is having issues with it.

“And the thunder rolls”

SPN FanFic #4

Plot copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW

 

THEN

 

She hadn’t always hated the drab and dreary motel rooms, in fact most of the ones she had come across were pretty interesting. During her downtime on cases, Beth had always made sure to check out the history of where she was spending her time, and some of them came with some surprising twists.  

One motel in particular came to mind, along a dark stretch of highway, somewhere between here and there, where everything blended together, she decided to stop for the night.  There wasn’t much that could be said about it. On the outside it looked like every other joint she had been too, you stop at the office and pay for the night, or two, pull up to the door in front of your room and it was off to dreamland.  But this one just had something about it that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

She grabbed her duffle from the car, and a small EMF detector, then entered the room. It immediately spike and she followed the sounds of the beeping to a small corner of the room.  There she placed the machine on the floor and let it be as she went about putting away her belongings. Beth started to hum, it wasn’t off of any greatest hits album, it never made it to the stores, it was just something she remembered her mother humming when she was a kid, and that’s when she noticed the beeping had stopped.  She continued for a minute more then finished with a long, drawn-out note before taking a breath. Instantly the meter spiked once more.

“So you like music?” She questioned and watched as it beeped in response.  “Old stuff?” Nothing. “Lullabies?” which got a small spike. “You must be a classic tunes kind of person?”  The needle hit the end of the gauge. “Let me see what I have.”

She pulled out her phone, plugging it in to make sure it didn’t die, flipped on her data and played the music app for whoever happened to be in there.  As she got comfortable on the bed, the instrumental noise echoed through the room and she drifted off to sleep. It wasn’t until later that night when the sound of the EMF blared in her ear that she woke up with a start.

The machine lay next to her head on the pillow and she sighed.  The music was off and the room was silent once more. For the next two days, every time she entered or exited the room, she made a point of turning on the music, speaking to the spirit and keeping the pleasantries going.  The last day she was there, the spikes had stopped and any activity she had experienced had ceased. The thing was, she never investigated what it was all about.

Upon checking out, she placed her keys on the counter and turned to head back towards the door.  The man who ran the place, an older gentleman in his late seventies stepped out from behind the wall.

“I hope you enjoyed your stay.”  He smiled and Beth grinned back.

“I did, it was fairly quiet, even the neighbors were pretty quiet. I only heard classic music once or twice but it wasn’t really loud.”  She answered.

“You didn’t have any neighbors.” The man frowned. It wasn’t that Beth was blind to what had happened, she just had to let it roll out of the man’s mouth.  “There’s a rumor that the room you stayed in is...well, inhabited, even if it’s empty.”

“Like a ghost?”  She questioned.

“Yes, that used to be my wife’s room before she passed.”  He tried to smile but the sadness reached his eyes. Beth stepped up to the counter and took his hand in hers, a gesture that made him gasp in shock.  

“You’re wife has very good taste.”  She licked her lips, trying to figure out how to proceed.  “It’s alright to tell her that she can go, that you’re doing okay without her.  She’ll stay as long as she knows you are looking for her.”

“Thank you.”  He smiled and Beth hoisted the bag on her shoulder once more.  She waved as she walked out the door and never looked back.

 

NOW

A shadow passed by the doorway and Beth tipped her head back. She had been sitting in the tub for what felt like forever.  The doctor had given them waterproof bandages for the wounds on her chest and she had been out of the hospital for two days. They were staying somewhere between Lake Champlain and home.  Since she was told to take it easy, the boys were trying not to travel so much with her resting in the car.

The poison had run its course but the scars, and the nightmares still remained.  She sighed and pushed her wet hair back from her head as the shadow passed the doorway again.  

“Hey.”  She shouted out and watched as Sam peeked his head in.  “Can you help me? I can’t reach my back.”

Sam smiled and knelt down beside the tub as she handed him the cloth.  He dipped it in the water as she twirled her hair, moving it out of the way.  He could only see her back and for the first time he noticed the tattoo that Dean had pointed out before.  The shadowing behind the anti-possession tattoo looked more like a birthmark than ink but he traced it softly with the cloth before he washed down her neck.

“How are the bandages? Nothing’s getting in, is it?”  Sam questioned softly in her ear as he trailed the cloth down her arm.

“You know what would be the best thing ever.”  She smiled, looking at him from the side of her peripheral view.  “If the two of you would just stop treating me like a baby.” Sam’s hand stopped where it was on her back and he moved to sit in front of her.  “I’m sorry, but it’s true. You and Dean have been pussy-footing around for two days. TWO…days…Sam. I’m not an infant and this isn’t even the worst injury I’ve had, so seriously.  Please stop.”

“We’re just not used to having someone around besides the two of us.”  He shrugged. “I guess you could say we’re not the best nursemaids.”

She touched his cheek with wet fingers and sighed.  “I don’t need nursemaids, I need you and I need him, and most of all, I need you to act normal.”

“Normal?” He smiled that crooked grin. “I guess we could try that for a while.”

“Good.”  Sam leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips, but it was the look of want in her eyes that kept him from backing to far away.  “Do that again, and you’ll end up here in the tub.”

“I think I might take my chances with that.”  

His mouth closed softly over hers as she leaned into his embrace, one that was full of wet clothing as he pushed her backwards in the tub.  He did manage to get down to his tee-shirt and boxers before falling into the water, which splashed over the side. Beth tried to hide the wince as he brushed against the bandage.  Sam could feel every part of her skin against him and wrestled with the now soaking wet tee-shirt as he knelt between her legs.

“You never closed the door.”  She whispered, laughing against his lips as the boxers were the next thing to exit the water.

“You’ll just have to be very quiet.”  He replied as he felt her warmth around him.  Beth let out a sigh, biting a lip, hers or his, she wasn’t sure which, but it kept the noise that rose in her throat from finding its way to the surface.

The gentle sway of the water didn’t last long before it was splashing over the sides as Sam turned her around so she straddled him. He put his head back against the edge of the large clawfoot tub and closed his eyes tightly, letting Beth take control while he fought to remember his own words and a loud groan escaped his lips.  She placed a hand over his mouth as she could feel him climbing and suddenly he sat forward, wrapping his arms around her, bringing her over the top with him as the release vibrated through his body. Sam grabbed her wrist, roughly pulling her hand away from his mouth and held her as he placed his lips against her ear, letting her hear everything she was doing to him as he let the rush wash over him.

She didn’t care about the pain as she pulled him tightly to her body, letting him catch his breath, and placed her cheek on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He teased as his hands spanned her back, trying to touch as much of her skin as possible.  “It’s…”

“I know,” she coughed a bit, trying to catch her breath but sat back and looked deep into those kaleidoscope eyes. “Don’t say you’re sorry, Sam.  That was exactly what I needed.”

He lifted her out of the tub, set her feet gently on the ground, and pushed her hair back from her face.  Dripping wet and naked, they both stood there for a moment before he let a breath out and kissed her. Beth stepped back, grabbing a towel from the rack, wrapping it around his waist and tucked the end of it in just below his belly button, which got exactly the reaction she wanted when her hand brushed against him.  Sam rolled his eyes and watched her wrap one around herself.

He wanted to sit down and watch her get dressed, in fact, lately all he wanted to do was watch her.  She thought it was because of the injury but he had found himself so caught up in everything that she did, it was hard for him not to stare.  Beth turned him as he continued to look and pushed him out of the bathroom, with only his pants in hand, before she shut the door. Dean came around the corner just in time to hear him sigh, staring blankly at the piece of wood, clutching his pants.

“Okay, so this brings new meaning to the word awkward.”  Dean stated and watched as Sam turned his head towards him.  Dean’s finger flipped back and forth, from the door to Sam and stopped.  “Did you two just…?” Sam’s lips became a thin line and Dean just nodded. “Make sure you clean up…everything. With Bleach!”

Sam wanted to respond as Dean walked by but the only thing he could do was smile and rub his neck.  He turned, with a grin on his face and made his way back to his room to change.

 

Their usual room had been upgraded to a suite, giving them the privacy they needed, when they needed it, but there was still not enough room and they found themselves stumbling over each other at every pass.  

Beth stood in the living room, looking out over the drive below.  She held a cup of coffee in her hand and was trying not to think of anything until she spotted Dean’s reflection in the window.  He stopped behind her, staying back just a couple feet, and looked her over before crossing his arms. She watched him swallow, watched the way he positioned himself and slowly she turned.

“You could have ripped them.”  He whispered.

“Dean, I’m not going to break, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to rip open stitches during sex.”  She grumbled and checked him over from head to toe. “Are you going somewhere?”

“I was thinking about it.”  The tone of his voice seemed off to her, and she put down the cup on the plant stand near the window.  Dean tried not to be affected as she stepped up close and placed both of her hands on his folded arms. “I need to get out.”

“We all do.”

“Beth,” he breathed in quickly. “I can’t be in the same place with you and Sam.”

“What?”  She stepped back a little shocked at his admission, but Dean reached out and took her hand in his.  “So you’re not getting out, you’re copping out.”

“Well, when you say it that way…”  His brows creased as he became irritated.  “What do you want me to do, stay here and watch Sam make puppy dog eyes at you all day?”

“Is that really what’s bothering you?”  She questioned. Dean leaned in closer to her, not more than an inch from her forehead, and he gently swiped the fingers of his free hand across the open area of her shirt where the jagged stitches could be seen.  

“THIS…is bothering me.”  She could see the heavy rise and fall of his chest as he tried to control the anger that was building.  “Every time I see them, I want to punch him…again.”

“Sam didn’t do it, Dean.”  The warm breath against her face never moved, and she pressed his fingers hard against the nymph’s cuts.  The hardened look on his face softened the harder she pushed and he choked back his emotions. “You didn’t do this either, and I know _that_ is what’s pissing you off.  Don’t lie to me, Winchester, I can see right through you.”

“I was supposed…”

“And you did, in the end Dean, you protected me the best you could but you need to back off of it.”  A tear ran down her cheek as his eyes met her blue ones. “Let it…go.”

“I can’t.” He admitted openly, his lips quivering.  “I don’t know how.”

“Get me home, Dean, get me home and then if you really need to, then you can leave.”  She slipped her hand out of his and walked past him.

 

Dean looked up and out the window at his own reflection, and wiped his hands across his eyes. He thought back to a time that Bobby had been sitting with him outside the shop.  The Impala in pieces.

_“Love sucks.”   Dean wasn’t in love at that point, at least not that he was willing to admit but he had been thinking about it._

_“Love is stupid, Dean, it doesn’t suck, it makes you blind.”  Bobby laughed. “Blind to the rest of the world because the only thing you can see are the ones you love.”  Dean looked over at him, as Bobby sat forward. “But love can be the best thing in the world with the right person.”_

Dean turned, the memory faded and he watched Beth turn the corner to the hallway.  “Cas, I need you.” He whispered louder than he usually did. He hated to openly call on the angel, but right then he needed to see him.  “When you can, I need you.”

 

Sam stood out by the Impala with a beer in his hand.  Something was bothering him, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  He was standing in another town on his way to a place that he didn’t remember. It was coming up on a new moon, the sky was filled with stars and little bolts of lightning in the distance, but the wind was calm.  He took another drink, and crossed his ankles as he used the hood of the car to lean on. Of course any scratches on it and Dean would have a fit.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around things.  Things with Beth, with Dean and most importantly with himself.  He closed his eyes, wanting to relax when suddenly the pain came on just as thunder rumbled overhead.  He dropped the bottle, and fell to his knees as it hit the ground. The memories came faster this time, and there were more of them.  He was sucked into several, mostly of him and Beth sneaking off together. Or the way she and Dean were then, just as they are now. But he came to a memory she had mentioned and it played out in his mind.

 _The house vibrated with the sound of the a scream, a mixture of thunder and a death wail_ . _Sam was on his feet, had kissed Beth on the head and ran out the door, shotgun in hand, behind Paul and John. He couldn’t see anything, just large red eyes in the darkness.  The night was moonless, lightning struck somewhere in the distance, and a crack of thunder rumbled overhead, sending whatever God-awful beasts there were, howling up at the noise._

_John left the porch, firing at will and noticed Dean and Serena scrambling towards him.  Sam watched as a strange looking animal stepped into the small beam of light that shined out no more than five feet from him. The flashlight was useless in this kind of darkness.  Three sets of bright red eyes approached him, the ground seemed to shake under his feet as it moved closer, and he was stuck, not in fear, but just frozen in that one spot._

_A huge paw swiped out at him, black like the night, just like the rest of the creature and snagged Sam’s leg by the fabric of his jeans.  He went down fast, the flashlight and gun flying out of his hands as he lost his breath. He felt every bump on the ground, tree limbs and roots flew past him as he did everything in his power to avoid them. It seemed as though the animal that dragged him didn’t need the light to see, it moved around in the dark as if it were born there._

_When the world finally came to a stop, Sam was lost in the darkness, in the middle of a thick patch of bushes.  He sat up slowly, making sure the creature was gone and moved back in the direction he believed he had come from. He couldn’t make out any simple navigational clues, as even the stars were covered by the trees._

_There was nothing for him to do until dawn, there was no way for him to find his way home. It was then that he spotted it, the glowing sets of red eyes that rushed at him once again.  Sam was down before he could blink and three large, very sharp-toothed canine jaws were snapping at him. He raised his arms hoping to fend them off, but just as quickly as they came on, they were gone again._

The memory had wiped him out.  Sam sat back with his head against the grill of the car and waited for the pain to subside.  He couldn’t make any sense of what he had seen but was fairly certain that he could draw what it looked like. It took more time than he wanted to recover from this memory, but when he was able to stand, the climb to get to the second floor of the hotel wasn’t difficult.

Beth watched as Sam stumbled through the door. Dean, who had been in the kitchen making a sandwich, dropped everything and ran to his brother’s side, helping him to the couch.  Sam pressed his fingers against his temples as Beth sat on the floor beside him. Dean rushed to get a cool, damp cloth from the kitchen.

“Another memory?”  Dean asked. Sam gave a slight nod and pointed to the overhead light, waving his hand at it.  Dean quickly shut it off and listened to his brother’s sigh of relief. “Can you tell us about it?”

“It was the night the dogs came.  Black dogs with red eyes.” Sam mumbled and Beth looked up at Dean, who slowly sank down to sit on the coffee table.  “Three of them grabbed me, I mean I think all three did, I only saw one paw. They dragged me through the woods and I don’t know, I got lost.”

“You, Sammy? You got lost?”  Dean chuckled but he knew it wasn’t funny. Beth slapped him hard on the leg with the back of her hand and tossed him a dirty look.  Dean stuck his tongue out at her and turned back to his brother.

“It was dark, there were no stars, no moon.  I have no idea where I was, and then it attacked again.  Three dogs, but they were so big.” Sam moaned. Dean looked at Beth in confusion but the woman beside him just jumped up and grabbed the laptop from the kitchen table.  She punched in a few keys and the screen came to life.

“Did it look like this?”  She asked as she turned the display around.  It took a moment for Sam’s eyes to adjust but he pointed at the painting and nodded.  Beth turned it back and looked at Dean.

“That’s not a dog.”  Dean whispered in confusion.

“No, it’s a Cerberus.”  Beth answered. “Hades hell-hound and not the ones that Lucifer played with either.  This thing was _THE_ big, bad and ugly when it came to Greek mythology.  It guarded the Third Gate of Hell and was bested only once, by Hercules.”

“Are you saying that Sam was dragged off by some Greek demon dog?”  Dean questioned and Beth shrugged.

“It’s his memory.”

“Alright,” Dean sighed, “say this thing, this Cerberus was around when Sam and Serena were taken, how long have the Olympians been involved in chasing us?”

“The Greek Gods have been around since time as we know it began.”  Beth shrugged. Dean watched as she moved about the kitchen and came back with a zip-bag full of ice, which she gently switched out for Sam’s cool cloth. “Greek Mythology spans thousands of years.  Who’s to say that there has ever been a time when they weren’t playing with us?”

Dean exhaled and shut his eyes.  “Come on, Cas.” He mumbled and when he looked up, Beth was smiling at him.  “What?”

“You know, if you just admitted what you felt, this would be so much easier.”  She raised her eyebrows and watched as he stumbled over words.

“It’s not like that.”  Dean grumbled.

“I know, you need him…it’s okay to admit.”

“We talk, he’s a good listener.”  Dean shrugged then threw his hands up in the air.  Beth was grinning at his reaction to the whole conversation about one man. “Why am I telling you this anyway?”

“So why call him?”

“Because he’s my sounding board.”  Dean answered and stood with his hands on his hips.  “I call him when I need someone to talk to.”

“What can you say to him that you can’t say to us?”

“That’s just it, Beth.”  He stressed. “You are what we talk about.”

“Wait,” she said a bit shocked.  “When you’re with Cas, you talk about me?”  She smiled and gave him a strange look. “Why?”

“Who else am I supposed to talk to about you?  Sam? Oh, yeah, right! He’ll totally understand that.”  Dean was getting a little edgy as the subject continued. She watched as he walked back and forth across the floor and she peeked her head out to see if Sam was still on the couch.  “It’s why I have to leave, Bea, there is no way for me to stay here, not with you.”

“What the hell did I do?”  She was so confused by that time she wasn’t even sure where to go, but she put her back to the refrigerator and waited for him to explain.

Dean looked at her as he paced, his fists clenching and releasing, but he didn’t say anything for several minutes.  He looked like a wild, caged animal. Suddenly he was in front of her, with his body pressed against her small frame and a hand above her head, keeping him from really letting his weight fall on her.  She could feel the pressure as his chest rose and fell, and she stared up into his dangerously green eyes. His free hand, the one still hanging by his side came up swiftly and tangled in her hair, pressing his palm against the side of her face.

His lips came down forcefully upon hers and Beth’s hands were instantly on his stomach, nails gripping into his skin.  His tongue ran over her mouth, wanting to be gentle, but there was nothing soft or caressing about the need in his touch.  She tried not to respond but her body betrayed her as her back arched, pushing it closer to his and passion flared in his kiss.  Dean returned her advance and with his full weight, had her up against the cold metal of the refrigerator. It wasn’t until a small sound escaped her lips that he quickly backed away to the stove, his hands on his head in disbelief of his own actions.

Beth gazed at him, her heart pounding from the sudden rush of adrenaline. Her breathing matched his breath for breath, laboring to control the tingling that flowed through her body.

“This,” he whispered. His voice cracked as he tried to control the volume, “this is why I can’t stay here.”

She licked her lips, tasting him on her skin, and that action alone made him growl in frustration.  With one last glance of those green eyes, from under his dark lashes, he left the room.

“Dean,” she whispered breathlessly, and swallowed.  With a shaky hand, Beth touched her swollen lips and tried to comprehend what had just happened.  She slid down to squat against the fridge and closed her eyes. That wasn’t supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen.

Quickly she got up, snapped the laptop shut and ran to her room, where she grabbed everything out of the drawers.  She had no idea what Dean was doing, but the door was closed and he was talking, not yelling, but talking. She snatched the keys to the Impala and with her pack on, raced downstairs.  She popped the trunk, grabbed her own duffle of supplies, that she had been leaving there, and tossed the keys up to the second floor. She heard as her lucky shot landed them on the doormat just before she left, running for the edge of the road.

It didn’t take much to flag down a truck that was passing her way and with one look back at the motel and the Chevy, she shut the door and rode off into the darkness.

Dean never heard the door shut, so it had to have been an hour or more before he came out of his room.  Castiel never showed, but he needed to tell him what happened, so he spent the time talking to himself as he paced.  The light in the kitchen was off, Sam was still lying on the couch, the door to Beth’s room was shut, and darkness was the only thing he saw between the cracks.

He needed a beer, or better yet some whiskey, so he reached down on the small table where he had left the keys and grabbed nothing but air.  Slightly confused, he searched the living room, thinking maybe in his own off state he had left them on another table, but there was nothing.  The kitchen was empty too, as well as his bedroom.

Gently he knocked on the closed door, turning the handle slowly as he pushed it open.  “Beth?” He whispered, hoping not to startle her as he entered.

Of course, a shoe to the head was what he expected but when he opened it fully, he noticed that the bed was empty.  Flipping on the light, the drawers were pulled out, some completely overturned and he suddenly realized what was wrong with this picture.  He ran to Sam, shaking him from the slumber he had drifted into.

“What?”  Sam snapped, pushing his hand away.

“Beth’s gone.”  Dean gruffed.

Sam, thinking he had heard his brother wrong, sat up on the couch, “what?”

“Beth, she’s gone!  Everything in her room is gone, and I can’t find the keys.”  Dean stated frantically as he searched the couch below his brother’s legs, moving the cushions around.

“Well, is the car still here?”  Sam replied, shaking the fog from his mind as he stood and pulled on his shoes.  Dean didn’t answer, he just kept looking for the keys. Sam glanced out the window.  “It’s still parked.”

“You didn’t hear me, Sam,” Dean straightened up, “Beth’s gone!”

“Gone?  Gone where?”

“I don’t know!”  The aggravation in his voice grew as Sam suddenly ran to Beth’s room and came back.

“She took everything.”  Sam stated as he headed for the door.  Dean looked up, as Sam opened it and stopped.   With a glance at his brother, he bent down and picked up the keys that sat in the doorway.  “What the hell did you do, Dean?”

“I didn’t do anything!”  He lied, a convincing one but a lie nonetheless.  “Come on, we have to find her.”

“When did you see her last?”  Sam questioned as they packed up their belongings and made a dash for the the Impala.

“About an hour ago, in the kitchen.  We were talking about that Cerberus thing that you said attacked you.”

“Cerberus?  What Cerberus?”  Sam was half awake and completely confused..

“The thing you described from your memories, Beth said it was a Cerberus.”  Dean shrugged as if he didn’t know what else to tell him, while they pulled out of the parking lot.  “Where the hell would she go?”

“Try the Bus Station.”  Sam answered, grabbing his laptop from the backseat.  Dean looked over quickly as he headed in the direction of the station while the blue glow of the screen reflected off his brother’s determined face.  “Her phone isn’t on.”

“So?”

“So,” Sam said looking up at him, “we can’t use it to GPS her position.”

“Ah,” Dean nodded but continued to drive. He tapped his finger against the steering wheel impatiently after they arrived at the terminal, waiting for Sam to get out of the office.  With a deep breath, he sighed, glancing up in the rearview mirror. Castiel stared at him with bright blue eyes.

“Hello, Dean.”

“Where the hell have you been, man?  I’ve been calling you for over two hours.” Dean replied, turning in his seat.

“I know, I heard everything you said about Elizabeth.”  He shook his head.

“Listen, don’t go all judgmental on me for being a dick.  We have bigger problems.”

“I don’t pass judgment.”

“I know, but listen, you can’t say anything to Sam about what happened, not yet.”  Castiel nodded, even though he wanted to remind Dean about how that would be deceptive to his brother.  “Beth’s gone, she took off and now I have no idea where she is. Sam’s looking to see if she caught one of the outgoing buses, but the look on his face is telling me that he’s getting nothing from the guy.”

“You have to find her, Dean. It’s imperative that the three of you remain together.”

“Easier said than done when you’re crushing on your brother’s girl…again!”  Dean grumbled. “She has to be safe, Cas.”

“I’ll find her.”  He answered and disappeared just as fast as he had arrived.

The black 2014 Ford Mustang zipped down the foggy roads, taking the corners with ease as it shifted through the gears.  Beth was done, she wanted her old life back. She loved the Winchesters, and obviously they both loved her, but to pin one against the other just because she was there was not going to happen.  Disturbed’s “Inside the Fire” shook the speakers, the windows and the rearview mirror. She wanted nothing but to feel the music and the speed.

Just as she rounded a dark corner, she noticed the tan coat that sat beside her in the car and over compensated for the next turn. Spinning the car as she downshifted, it came to a halt on the side of the road.

“Jesus Christ Castiel!”  She screamed as she backhanded him against the chest, then put both hands on the steering wheel.  “You’re lucky I’m not dead right now!” She huffed then turned completely in her seat and turned the music down.  “What the hell are you thinking, popping into people’s cars like that? Are you out of your mind?”

“Dean is looking for you.”  He said matter-of-factly.

“You know Cas, you’re a great guy but I could give two shits what that Winchester is doing at this very moment.”  She answered and pulled out onto the road again.

“Where are you going?”  He questioned as he watched the dark road pass by him.  The moonless night didn’t help his sense of direction.

“It doesn’t matter.”  She answered. “And I wouldn’t tell you anyway, you would just go back to him and snitch.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so upset with him.”

“He kissed me, Cas!” She growled.  “Dean kissed me and his brother was lying in the other room.  How can I not be upset?”

“You don’t seem upset about the kiss, you seem upset about Sam.”

“Please, just stop.”  Beth groaned. “I don’t need to be analyzed by an angel.  I know what’s right and wrong and right now I’m getting as far away from those boys as I can before I end up getting them killed!”

“Why would you get them killed?”  She couldn’t stay mad at him with all the innocent questions he was asking because he was truly curious as to why she was doing the things she was doing, so she drew in a deep breath and relaxed.

“The Olympians.”  She answered and glanced over at him.  Cas sat sideways in the bucket seat, watching the side of her face, taking in her expressions.  “I think they’re behind my sister’s death.”

“She’s not dead.”  Cas replied, which didn’t completely surprise her like he thought it would.

“You’re right, she’s not dead. She came to me when I was sick.  Astral projection is what you called it, if I remember correctly.  But if that’s the case, what is she? Sam’s memory might be the key to figuring out just what happened.”

“And the Olympians?”

“The Cerberus was what attacked Sam that night, when he went missing and came back without any memories or feelings.  I’m pretty sure that it’s the same thing that attacked and took my sister.” Beth concentrated on the road and her memories of books she had read.  “Did they tell you about the doppelganger my father killed, the reason Dean thought I was dead in the first place?”

“He mentioned it in our discussions, yes.”

“What if it wasn’t the type of shifter that the Winchesters are used to? The ones they dealt with in the past were humans who learned to change their forms.  This thing was waiting for me in a cave and if the Cerberus was involved in Sam’s abduction way back then, what’s to say that the shifter who took my place wasn’t a Titan?”

“Like Metis?”  Cas questioned. “But Zeus turned her into an animal.”

“Exactly.  If he can do that to his own wife, what’s to say that he or she, depending on the God, couldn’t shift my sister into something evil? Beautiful on the outside, evil on the inside, like an M&M,” she shrugged and looked at him as the car rolled to a stop sign.  “My sister wasn’t the best person, even if she appeared to be on the outside. What if something … something very powerful morphed her into what she really was, and in exchange for that, they wanted us?”

“This theory of yours, are you willing to test it?”  Castiel questioned.

“Not with the Winchesters around.”  She stressed. “Sam was already taken once, and the Harpies did a number on Dean, he hasn’t been the same since.  To put them up against not only a Cerberus but a possible shifter of Greek magnitude, I wouldn’t risk it for the world.”

“Agreed.”  He acknowledged. Beth took his hand.

“Promise me, Cas, promise you will keep Dean and Sam as far away from me for as long as possible.”  She looked deep into his blue eyes, the thought of betraying the brothers hurt him and it was evident on his face.  “Swear, Cas, on their lives that you will not tell them where I am.”

“I swear.”  He whispered, reluctantly and she felt him disappear from her grasp.

With a deep breath, Beth turned left onto the long stretch of dark highway.

 

Dean stood at the table, his fists pressed hard against the wood and waited, looking at the clock.  What was taking Castiel so long? His eyes flashed over at the mirror in the kitchen. He didn’t want to see the man looking back at him, the confused, angry man that peered out at him with his own green eyes. He suddenly pushed everything off the table. He wanted to scream, punch the wall, punch himself.  He had done this. Dean Winchester, savior of the world, survivor of Hell had pushed the woman he loved, that his brother was with, out the door.

“She’s fine, Dean.” Castiel’s voice spoke up and his heart dropped.  His stomach twisted and he leaned over, hands on his knees. “But I can’t tell you where she is.”

This made Dean straighten and look at the Angel who stood in the room.  He approached him with ferocity and stopped less than a foot from him. “What?”

“There were no road signs, nothing to give me a location of where she might be or where she’s going.”  Cas admitted. “She was driving a sports car, and very fast.”

“She rented a car?”  Sam questioned, stepping into the room.  Dean stared at his friend, squeezing his fists so tightly that his nails dug into the skin.  “Dean?” Sam’s voice snapped him out of the fury, and he stepped back a bit to catch his breath.  “What’s wrong with you?”

“Beth is concerned about your control, Dean.”  Cas added, and Dean nodded. “I think the Harpies magic has affected you worse than we thought.”

“She’s fine though?”  Dean inquired, ignoring all of the other statements.  Cas nodded and watched as the darkness drained from his eyes.  Sam gazed over at the mess on the floor and watched as Dean ran a hand through his hair.  “She’s right.” That one statement made Sam’s eyes go wide. There weren’t many times that Dean ever admitted when there was something wrong but this one was finally out of the bag. “I’m not right in the head when it comes to her.”

“What?”  His brother questioned.

“She dies every night in my dreams, Sam.”  Dean replied, his hands on the table once more.  “She dies in a million and a half ways every night and there is nothing I can do to stop it.  It’s like the Mystery Spot all over again, but you were awake and I’m living a nightmare. And when I wake up, every morning all I want to do is hold her and thank God she’s alive but I don’t, because I know you wouldn’t understand, hell, even I don’t understand. So I watch her, and I watch you and I hate myself more and more.”

“Dean, the Harpies did that to you, to her.”  Sam tried to reason with him, but Castiel shot him a look, as if to scold him for rationalizing Dean’s pain.

“You didn’t see it Sam.”  Dean growled, clutching the edge of the table harder.  “You didn’t see it the first time, and you didn’t see it when that Bitch cut her throat.”  He brought his darkened eyes up to meet his brothers. “I couldn’t save her the first time, I wasn’t fast enough.  This time, I _CHOSE_ her, I was the one that sentenced her to die.”

“She’s NOT DEAD!”  Sam stated through clenched teeth.  Cas stepped between the brothers and faced Sam, he gave a small gesture with his head, signaling to follow and they walked down the hall, leaving Dean at the table.  Sam crossed his arms and stared at Castiel with irritation. “What is it, Cas?”

“What your brother experienced was real to him,” Cas said in defense.  “What he’s reliving is real to him, would you like to see?” He pressed his fingers up against Sam’s forehead and let the images he had seen in Dean’s mind play through.  When he released Sam, Cas watched as he doubled over, gagging and shaking.

“He dreams that?”  Sam wrenched, trying to hold in the contents of his stomach.

“Yes, every night.”

Sam straightened and walked out to his brother, wanting to reach out and grab him, just to hold him but it would have been odd.  He stood beside Dean, watched the man’s tormented face and sighed. “We’ll find her Dean.”

“Yeah,” he whispered, still staring at the table.  Sam patted him on the back and walked away. Dean looked up at Cas and frowned.  “You swore you would never share that.”

“Your brother needed to know,” Cas answered, “so when Beth gets back you can start to heal.  He’ll be more receptive of your feelings for her if he knows what’s going on.”

“You really think that’s the way to solve this?  Let my brother’s girl crawl up in bed with me? Let me hold her, touch her?”  Dean’s voice was deep with anger and he shook his head. “That will just make me realize how much more I can’t have her.”

“You have me.”  Cas replied, and Dean stood up.  He was face to face with the Angel, his friend, his confidant and slowly he realized that he really did have him and he nodded.

“I know, Cas, I know.”

Beth zipped the car onto a small dirt road that lead to the middle of a large field.  There, almost hidden from the main street, was a small one-room shack. As she pulled up in front of the tiny porch, she let out a breath that she felt as if she had been holding forever.  Being home was never easy on a good year, let alone the year that she suddenly found herself in the company of the Winchesters again.

With both packs in hand, Beth made her way up and unlocked the three deadbolts that held the door closed.  It was good to know that the stories she had made up about the area kept the kids away, for there was nothing out of place, even the dust.  The sun was just about to come up through the trees and what her body craved was a few hours of much needed sleep.

She had stopped at the all-night department store along the way and grabbed a pillow, sleeping bag, air pump, and blow-up mattress, so bedding was all set.  The small broom in the corner worked well enough to get the dust off the floor and out the door before she set up a small sleeping area. She placed her Colt by her head as she exhaled a long ragged breath and closed her eyes.  Just a few hours, that was all she needed.

Dean seemed to drive with a purpose, the sun shining in from the back window, reflecting in his eyes from the rearview mirror. The music was off, he gazed out the window with a completely blank stare and hadn’t said a word about their direction or his thoughts in almost an hour, a new record for Dean.  As funny as it was to watch him sulk, Sam couldn’t stand the silence.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the dreams?”  He asked, still watching his brother’s face.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”  Dean grumbled in response.

“If what Cas showed me was anything like the real ones, you must be living in hell.”

Dean glared at him, anger flashed in his eyes.  “I said, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Did you tell Beth?”  Dean shook his head slowly as if to say “no way in hell”, but he bit down on his lip.  “Dean?”

“Sammy,” he turned his head and looked directly at his brother.  “I’m asking you to drop this now. I just want to find her, after this is over we can get all lovey-dovey and share our feelings but now is not the time. I don’t want to talk about it and that’s final.”

“Alright.”  He whispered and turned to watch the road ahead of him.

Beth stoked the small fire that she had made when she arrived, about three hours before the nightmare of being home had woken her up.  She managed to gather wood and sift through the leftover kindling to find something that might burn. A year without having anyone to attend the shack either left the wood very wet or very dry, she was left with wet.  She had the small cabin built on the property that her father owned, three years after the fire had sent the main house burning down to its foundation. The basement of the old house was covered, and a hidden door in the cabin became the entrance way for a small bunker when she had nowhere else to go. It was also a great place to store needed equipment without people snooping around.

Once the stove was going stronger, and the coffee percolated in an old pot, she moved over to the small two-foot by two-foot spot in the furthest corner of the shack.  With a flashlight in hand, she pulled open the makeshift hatch and made her descent into the large cement store room.

Everything she had done was cataloged there, except for the last few events with the boys. Beth decided there was one thing she really needed, a shower.  In the back of the long dark room was a small stand up shower with a drain. It took less than ten minutes to fill up a whole heater and gave her enough hot water for about a half hour, should she need it, but the wounds needed to be treated and there was only one way to do that, she had to clean them.

It looked like any other basement, as she kicked the generator on and lights lit up down the length of the room, divided down the middle by large support beams. She had insulated it and installed a drop ceiling. There were two rooms set up as bedrooms and of course the shower in the back, but the walls were lined with shelves and hooks that held some items she would probably never hunt with.  Most of them were her father’s. On the side closest to a small kitchenette was her workspace, where she organized her belongings and also where she kept the medical kit.

Outside the shower was a small sink, with plenty of light, and a large mirror. Around the corner housed as small room with just a toilet in it.  She didn’t need much, this was usually just a short stop once or twice a year, or if she needed to heal from a wound.

Beth stood in front of the mirror and with a deep breath she pulled the tee-shirt over her head and examined the wounds through the clear plastic she had left on after her bath.  It was definitely time for that to come off. It pulled on her skin as she ripped at it, tugging on the stitches as it went. Pain flashed through her and she had to stop to catch her breath for a moment before continuing.

She washed the area with soap and water before patting it dry and inspected the sutures.  Sam’s were good, the surgeons’ were better but they itched like a bitch and she found herself patting them lightly with her hand.  With another plastic covering on, she stepped into the shower and washed her hair and body properly. Her mind wandered as she stood under the warm water.

First, it drifted to Sam and the way his hands felt on her, the kisses and the way he caressed her skin, and she smiled as she remembered the last time in the tub, but her bliss was shaken by the passion in Dean’s kiss as he pressed her against the refrigerator.  With a deep breath in, she sighed, and shut the water down. She didn’t want to think about Sam or Dean, she wanted to kill the bastard that had taken her family from her and Sam’s memory was her only link. Both he and Serena had been taken by a Cerberus and it was time to learn just how to kill the son of a bitch.

Once changed into some more comfortable clothing, she checked the storage space for canned or jarred food, and found some chicken noodle soup to make. She grabbed the coffee that was finally finished from the stove upstairs and sat down at the small desk.  She used the lamp overhead to see clearly and opened the laptop. Any information she could find on the Cerberus was spread across the table, which included old encyclopedias and textbooks in other languages. She could grasp the meaning of some of them, with others, she used the translator app on her computer.

According to legend, Hercules defeated the dog with a club. That club was made from parts of an Olive tree.  An unexpected surprise was to find that the lumberyard up the road was also a nursery and had the ability to get just the sort of tree she was looking for.  She ordered five to be delivered to the shack above, since they wouldn’t fit in the Mustang and was promised to have them within the hour.

It was time for life to get exciting.  She fished around the weapons and found the perfect delivery system for anything made of wood, a crossbow.  She cleaned and exchanged any parts that needed repairing and slowly went around shutting off the lights. With luck, she would be back down there tonight to sleep instead of on the air mattress.

When the trees arrived, she was out by the side of the building digging holes, as if she were going to  plant them. She paid the delivery men and watched as they drove away before she started taking each one apart for what she needed. Arrows, lots of arrows.

Dean slowed down as he began to drive through the town.  He recognized everything right down to the little shops that lined the sidewalks.  “Fifteen years and this place hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Where are we?”  Sam asked, waking up at the sound of his voice.  He pushed himself up and glanced around.

“Beth’s hometown.”  Dean whispered and pulled over to look at the motel on their right.  “That’s where Dad first left us, before he met Paul. He would do the same thing as always. Don’t let anyone in, lock the doors, and watch Sammy,” Dean smiled, “then some sneaky ten-year-old girl who lived on the outskirts of town kept riding her bike down here, in the middle of the night, to check in on both of us.”

“Beth?”  Sam watched him nod.  “Why weren’t we at Paul’s?”

“That wasn’t until after the main office caught on fire one night and Paul came down to grab us before the cops got involved.  That’s when we started staying there, but up until then, Beth would ride down every night.” Dean caught himself smiling. “She was fearless.”

“She still is, Dean, which is why she’s out here trying to do this alone.”

“I think I know where she might be.”  He flipped on the blinker and pulled the Impala out onto the road once more.

It hadn’t taken Beth long to manufacture the arrows for her crossbow.  She had mastered the technique as a teenager and filling the quiver was as effortless as breathing.  With at least twenty olive arrows, she locked up the shack and headed out towards the woods, in the direction of the stream, where she had first found Sam.

Dean turned onto the dirt drive, one almost hidden because of the growing grass.  He knew this way by heart. He had driven it so many times after the fire, just to come back, just to see, but there was never anything there, until now.  The shack had to be at least a decade old, but the Mustang was cherry, not a scratch on it and he glanced over at his brother.

“What do you think?”  Sam smiled. “Beth and her horses.”

“Yep and this one has got to be pulling about 305.” Dean checked it over as he drove up beside it.  “If not more.” He shut the car off and looked around. “Why would she come back here?”

“Why would she build this here?” Sam walked up to the shack as Dean looked over the car, peeking into the windows.

“Well, all of her stuff’s moved out.”  He sighed and glanced up at Sam. “This used to be where her house sat.  Maybe she put it here for a memory.”

“Creepy memory.”  Sam mumbled and looked in through the windows.  “She’s got an air mattress, blanket, pillow but not much else.”

“Come on, Beth, what the hell are you doing?”

“Looks like three deadbolts. Not hard to pick.”  Dean watched as Sam dug out the kit and went to work on the door.  He had just sprung the last one when Dean heard the tick from inside.  He grabbed Sam by the shoulders and threw him down on the ground as the shotgun inside blew a hole right through the door.

“Nope, not hard to pick at all.” Dean replied, standing to look through the new opening.  “Looks like that’s the only trap though.”

Just as they were about to enter, they heard the crack of wood behind them and swung, both with guns in hand, and came face to face with the business end of Beth’s crossbow.

“Well, this sucks.”  She sighed and lowered the weapon. “Remind me to kick Castiel in the ass the next time I see him.”

Dean tucked his gun into the back of his pants and walked down to her.  She stared up into his eyes for only a moment before he wrapped his arms around her tightly.  She released a long, slow breath and let him hold her as she closed her eyes.

“What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.”  She stepped back from him and moved to Sam’s arms as the younger brother kissed her tenderly on the head.  “This is just something I thought I had to do myself. Unfortunately with the two you showing your faces, I know _now_ there is no way I can do this alone.” She placed the bow and quiver on the porch and looked through the hole. “Okay,” she started as she stood, “I’m pretty positive that with the level of intelligence between the two of you that you would have check the windows before opening the door.” Sam scratched his head and looked off at the trees as Dean just leaned against the car with his arms crossed. “No? Neither of you?”

“It wasn’t our first concern.”  Dean replied. His gruff voice made her walk right up to him.

“You and I, we need to have a discussion before this…pissy-ass attitude of yours really throws a monkey wrench into our relationship.”  Dean exhaled, blinked slowly and just looked at her. “So, do you want to talk about it, or do you want to continue to be a dick, because honestly, I want my Dean back.  I liked him, you…”she squinted her eyes and looked over his face, “not so much.”

With that she turned, grabbed her toys from the porch and entered the small wooden building.

“I told you that you needed to talk about it.” Sam agreed and followed her.

Dean wasn’t sure he wanted to follow.  She was fine, he could see that, but he didn’t want to talk. That would make it too real for him and living his nightmares every night was almost as much as he could take without bringing her into it while he was awake.  He gathered his strength and followed them in. Sam stood in the corner staring down at the hole in the floor, but the light flashed on and Sam made the descent into the basement.

Sam stood, taking in the bunker with awe and confusion.  This was under his feet as he walked around above? Suddenly, he was like a kid in a candy store, checking out every room and getting into all the cabinets while Beth sat at the table and watched him.  Dean made his way down into the basement, and with only a quick glance around, sat down at the table with her.

“Sam, don’t touch the broad sword.”  Beth scolded as his inquisitive eyes darted over the equipment her father had left behind.

“Looks like a great place to hide.”  Dean nodded and glanced over at her.

“Who’s hiding?”  She shrugged and leaned past him to make sure Sam didn’t touch breakable stuff. “Besides, I’m not the one keeping secrets. Remember, we’re family, we don’t _keep_ secrets?”

“It’s just not something I want to talk about, not yet.”  The expression on his face was hard to read, but she knew one thing for sure, poker face was definitely a front for “something’s going on”.  “When I’m ready, okay?”

“Sure, when you’re ready.”  She got off the bench and walked over to Sam, who stared endlessly at the double-bladed ax on the wall.  She stood beside him and smiled. “You played with that once.” Sam turned quickly to look at her. “You were thirteen, I think, one giant swing and you had it stuck in a maple tree.”

“Really?”  Sam laughed.

“Yep, and your dad nearly had your head.”  She placed her hand over his fingers and gave them a gentle squeeze.  “I’m sorry I ran.”

“Why did you?”

“A Cerberus, Sam, the first viable clue as to what happened that night was you being attacked by a giant, three-headed Hound of Hell.  I thought if I came out here I could find it again.” She shrugged. “So much has happened since I came back into your lives, I couldn’t bare if the two of you got hurt because of a lead I had to follow.  Your memories coming back, those are making your head hurt worse and there isn’t anything I can do about that, but this…I could save you from this.”

“I don’t want you to save me,” he whispered, and gently brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek.  “I want to stand beside you and fight it.”

Sam leaned down and pressed his lips gently against hers, letting her feel the growing want in every pass, as his arms moved to embrace her.

“UGH!”  Dean gagged.  “You know, you could make someone puke with all that mush, take it somewhere else.”

“Fine.”  Sam shrugged and pulled her into the closest room, closing the door behind her.  Beth laughed as he sat on the edge of one of the beds, having her stand between his legs and he grasped the end of her shirt.  Beth looked down with a smile as he slowly pushed it up, exposing her belly.

“What are you doing?  These walls are less than soundproof and far, far from keeping Dean from hearing.”  She giggled as his kisses dotted her stomach. Sam stood and pulled the shirt from her, tossing it on the bed.  He kissed her neck and down over the swell of her breast before he stopped and looked at the bandage job.

“I just wanted to check your stitches.”  He winked and ran a hand along the ridge of the bandage.  Beth suddenly stopped him. Something about what he said had triggered a memory of her own and she grabbed her shirt from the bed.

Dean looked up, half a candy bar hanging from his mouth, and stopped chewing as Beth walked out in her bra and jeans with her tee-shirt in hand.  She placed it on the counter and opened the laptop, completely unconcerned with the state of her clothes. It wasn’t until she looked up and saw Dean staring at her, not with confusion, but just a little too much…lust, that she growled under her breath and put the shirt on once more as Sam moved up to stand beside her.

“The scars,” she stated, flipping through files on the laptop until she came to some pictures from when Sam was nineteen.  “The Cerberus left marks on Sam’s legs when it attacked him.” She opened a picture and turned the laptop towards him. There were four jagged marks along his lower leg, where the paw had come down.  “They weren’t put there because it wanted to take you. They were put there to mark you.”

She knelt down. Sam’s eyes got wide as he stared at Dean, who gave him a classic “I have no idea” look, one that was typical of him, and then Dean knelt down to see what Beth was looking at.  After a moment, she stood and shook her head.

“Of course, they’re not there.”  She huffed. “An Angel healed you, he took all your scars.”  She went back to the computer and flipped through the pictures.  “Okay, so this is what I was looking for, four lines of scars, just like mine, not too deep, not life threatening, just a mark.”

“A mark for what?”  Dean asked. “So they could find you?”

“Exactly, but they can’t find Sam, he doesn’t have the marks anymore.”  She glanced around at the pictures of the deities on her wall, most of them from the Greek mythology she had been gathering up. “The Cerberus, the nymphs?  Hell the creepy doll spirit from our first case together, that was Lyssa, Goddess of Rage and Fury, and our new friend that we have yet to meet, Mnemosyne, guess what she’s in control of…memories.”  Beth took a breath to compose herself. “These things have been playing with us from the beginning. They aren’t after us because of Cas, they’re after Cas because of us. We’ve been playing these parts since we were kids, Cas comes along, resembles a North Wind and boom, lightning bolt pointed right at his chest.”

“We brought Cas into this,” Dean made it more of a statement than a question. Beth raised her eyebrows.  “Cas is an angel, he would have known about this years go.”

“But his eyes weren’t on you, they certainly weren’t on me or Sam that many years ago, at least where this is concerned.”  Beth grabbed the crossbow and quiver. “We have to find the Cerberus, and we have to kill as many of these things as we can before the big one comes up.  We don’t know who’s controlling them or which higher God is behind them coming down but I do know one thing for damned sure, there is no way to put an end to Zeus or Hades.”

“The olive trees I saw mangled in the yard, that was the type of club that Hercules used.”  Sam spoke up, sliding an arrow from the quiver. “I’m guessing that’s what these are.” Beth nodded.  “Well, then it’s time to get out there and hunt it down.”

“Now wait a damn minute, you do realize we’re using Beth as bait…. _AGAIN._ ” Dean spoke up.

“How so?”

“She has the mark, you don’t, take a wild guess.”  Dean turned to Beth and took her hands in his. “Don’t you think you’ve taken enough risks with these things already?”

“These “things” killed my sister and my father, Dean, I’m not going to let them take you too.”  She answered, taking her hand from his as she walked over and started up the ladder. “Olive bullets are in the second drawer.  They’re made for the Colts.” She yelled as she disappeared out the door and into the woods.

Dean rolled his eyes.  This girl was going to give him some kind of heart attack, but he grabbed the box of bullets and loaded up.  Sam was still watching the spot she had disappeared out of until Dean slapped him across the arm.

“You heard the lady.”  He gestured to the box and watched Sam take a handful of them.  When several clips were full and each had them stashed in various pockets, plus a loaded gun, they made their way topside and looked around for the raven-haired woman.  Dean tapped Sam on the arm and pointed up above them to the roof of the shack. They stepped out, turned and looked up at her as she sat on the peak of the house. “Why don’t you come down here before you hurt yourself?”

“Why don’t you blow me?”  Beth replied and smiled.

“If that’s what it takes to get you off, let’s go.”  She watched the smile play on his lips as Sam’s classic look of irritation at the childish banter swept across his face.

“Oh honey, I don’t think you could handle it.”  Beth, leaned over, dangling her arms from the roof.  “But if you think you got it, come on and make me.”

“You’re going to pull your stitches.”  Dean replied seriously.

“You want me, Winchester, you’re going to have to come up and get me.”  She winked and looked at Sam, who smiled.

He understood what she was trying to do, shake Dean from his mood, and it seemed to work as the older one walked around looking for the best way up. Sam laughed when Dean finally found her secret way up onto the roof. The expression on her face before she rolled over made Sam grin wider, as Dean crawled towards her.  Dean smiled as she lay below him while he propped himself up on his hands and knees, her palms raised to block him from getting any closer and she grinned.

“You win, now how are you going to get us both down, smartass?”

The look on Dean’s face turned to a sly grin as he glanced around.  “I could just push you.”

“You could, or we could just wait.”  Beth looked up at the oncoming storm, the dark clouds that rolled in as quickly as she spoke.  There wasn’t any lightning, at least not yet, but she had been watching the system all day and she knew precisely when it would be in the area.  Dean looked up at the ominous clouds.

“What the hell is that?”  Sam questioned.

“A gift from our Godly friends.”  She shrugged, slipping out from under Dean as she sat with her legs dangling from the roof, Dean grabbed a seat beside her.  “It happened before. The night you were taken, Sam.”

“What?”  He turned and looked up at her.

“A series of strange storms, the new moon and us, here at the house.  This would be the perfect night for the Cerberus to come back, especially if one of us holds the marks.” Sam’s eyes met with Dean’s, they knew just what she was doing now and her plan had worked.  All three of them stood outside and waited. That creature was coming for one of them and since they weren’t going to put her on the block, she was going to do it for them. Dean grabbed Beth’s hand and held it gently as she turned to him.  “If it comes for me, promise you will keep him safe. And Dean make sure, no matter what, you won’t let…” she stopped for a moment and caught her words, “you won’t let me forget you.”

“No one is going anywhere.”  He jumped off the porch, not too far of a jump and turned to catch her when she made the move to get down.  The three of them stood, armed and ready, when the first growl filled the air. Dean smiled as he listened. “That’s a big dog.”

“It’s going to try and trick you.”  Beth’s breath quickened. “You’re going to see multiple images but only one is the dog, make sure you aim for the head and don’t miss.”

The darkness rolled in, covering the sky, blocking out the sun, like a rolling tide they were quickly swallowed up.  As their eyes adjusted, Beth could make out shapes approaching from the woods. She knew what was coming as the red eyes sparked to life. The howls began again, this time growing to the point where they were screaming.

“Sam, what do you remember about the one that took you?”  Beth asked.

“It was quiet, it only growled.”  He watched Beth aim, unsure as to how she might be seeing that thing in the dark but he could make out the smile on her face.

“Then there is our puppy.”  Both boys watched her but couldn’t see anything in the darkness, except the red eyes.  “Fire at will, boys but make every shot count.”

They were surrounded, but the dogs, the howling ones, kept their distance as they sang.  It wasn’t until they moved that the guns began to go off. As the big dog stepped closer, the three of them found themselves separated.  They didn’t know how, they hadn’t even made a real step in any direction, but they were now more than twenty feet apart, all with large black dogs surrounding them.

The Cerberus bound out of the woods, his speed was unimaginable and he was on Sam before Beth could let out a scream.  She turned her bow towards it, ignoring the snaps of the jaws near her feet and fired off more than a dozen arrows as Sam went down.  Each hit its target but the thing kept coming. She stopped dead in her tracks as it grabbed him by the leg and began to drag him off. Three more shots fired, this time from Dean’s gun as she grabbed his arm and they made a run after it.

Sam yelled as he blocked his face to avoid the bushes hitting his eyes.  He cried out his brother’s name and Beth’s, but strangely enough, he wasn’t afraid.  He had done this before, he was prepared. When the dog stopped, it was like déjà vu, he was in the same clearing, the same dark spot and he had no idea where he was, but this time he had an advantage, he had two people who were trailing him.

He drew the gun from where he had stashed it securely in his jeans with the safety on, while being pulled, and aimed it at the ready.  He was prepared for that dog to come back. What he wasn’t prepared for was the woman that stepped out of the darkness. She had long, flowing blond hair, the total opposite of Beth’s but their blue eyes were the same.  He took long deep breaths to control his emotions as with her came a strange light, like an illumination.

Serena smiled at Sam, her face the same as in his memory of her and she stopped.  “Sam Winchester, I’m surprised to see you back in these woods.”

“Serena.”  

She laughed. “Oh don’t look so surprised, you knew I wasn’t dead.  You knew they took me.”

“Who took you?”  Sam questioned.

“Oh, oh my, so you still don’t remember.  That’s such a pity, there was so much I wanted to talk to you about.  You and Elizabeth, she and Dean. I wanted to know if you had taken care of them yet.”  She laughed. He tried to stay calm, to just let her talk. “You see, they’re the reason I’m here and not you.  Beth came looking for you before the spell was complete. She was the one that stopped you from becoming, well, like me.”

“Why exactly would I want to be like you?”

“I’m a Goddess, Sam, a reincarnation of Artemis, which is why my little ones have been out hunting you.”  She smiled as the Cerberus walked up beside her, shaking the arrows out of its body. “Beth has always been so clever, she was the hunter in the family, not Dad, not me, but they decided that she was too good to use.  She wouldn’t do what they wanted her to.”

“You’re Artemis, so why stay in these woods and wait for fifteen years to come back?”

“It’s all about the timing Sammy.”  She smiled.

“Don’t call me that.”

“I can’t believe that still bothers you, after all these years.”  Serena chuckled. If he could remember more about her, he could figure out a way to destroy her but the best thing he could do was deal with the dog.  “She hurt him, clever little girl. No one has injured the Cerberus since Hercules, and even then, he didn’t really do that, just gave him a little bit of a boo-boo.”

“What do you want me for?”

“To become my lover.  You will be the reincarnation of Orion.”  Sam stepped back.

“I don’t think so, Lady.”

“It’s a great honor Sam. It’s what should have happened so long ago. You were never meant for Beth, not in this world, not in any world.  You see, that’s why it was so easy for you to forget. You wanted this back then, but she helped you escape.” Serena had stepped closer while talking and Sam found himself lowering the weapon.  “Can’t you think back? Don’t you ever wonder why the memories were just gone? You let them take them your memories, you let them decide your fate with her”

“Why would I not want to be with her, I loved her?”

“Do you remember loving her?  Do you remember being with her yet?”  Serena smiled and placed a hand on his chest.  Sam felt his heart race as she touched him, but it became painful and he doubled over as he tried to breathe through it. “You will remember, Sam, you’ll remember everything and when you do, you’ll come back here and finish what we started.  The Gods of old are coming back, and they want you to rule beside me.”

Sam stopped and wondered, if just for a moment, what if Serena was telling the truth.  If he loved Beth so much why would he want to forget her, why would he allow himself to wipe her completely from his mind?  He swallowed hard as Serena placed a hand upon his cheek, that caress, that touch was something he definitely remembered and he quickly took a step back, becoming angry at himself.

“Don’t you wonder why Dean is so possessive? Why Beth is so close to him but you…you take some time to become attached to, even if she did love you once, even if she was in love with you once, that wasn’t how it ended.”

“Stop it.”  Sam ordered backing up as he brought the gun back to her level.  “When I remember, I will figure it out, but until then you aren’t going to be playing mind games with me.”

“SAM?”  Dean’s voice echoed through the woods.  He stared at the woman before him, who just gave a crooked grin and suddenly vanished.  The Cerberus was the only thing that stood between him and his brother.

“DEAN!”  He yelled back and listened as the footsteps approached.

The three-headed dog was ugly in the light, which was now breaking through as the storm clouds cleared overhead.  Sam wanted to fire off a shot but he just stared at the monster. Three large heads, thick and square like a pitbull, each with rows of venomous teeth, their ears back as they snarled, drool cascading from their jowls.  The massive back of this creature was lined with heavy black fur that stood up on end and the tail was made up of large black snakes. There was nothing nice about this pooch. Just as Dean stepped into the light of the clearing, the dog faded into the night.

Beth was one step behind him, her bow ready and aimed but she too watched as it disappeared before her and she shot Sam an angry look, not because he had let it go, but because she missed it, again.

“What happened?”  Dean questioned as he came up and literally gave his brother an inspection.  Sam, annoyed with the hands on him, slapped them away.

“I saw Serena.”  He shrugged and looked at the two of them.  “She told me some stuff about my past and then she disappeared.  She said I was supposed to be Orion, that’s why they took me.”

“You would think these Gods have had enough of trying to make us their vessels.”  Dean ranted. He looked up at the sky. “Not doing it, you hear me? Not in this lifetime!”  He turned back the way they came, mumbling under his breath. “There’s nothing I hate more than self-centered Gods!”

Beth reached out, taking Sam’s hand.  “Hey, let’s go, there isn’t much more we can do here, not for a while.”  

Sam nodded and let her lead him down the path, the words Serena spoke to him wove over and over in his mind.  Beth’s touch was not the same as hers and it made him wonder why.

The thunder rolled above the bunker, the shack above was locked up tight and the light was on at the small desk where Beth and Sam sat. Dean was over on the small couch flipping through any sites that Sam’s laptop would pick up. Netflix seemed to be running out of B-movies as he grumbled under his breath. Beth looked at Sam from across the table as they both smiled at Dean’s reaction to the less than favorable screen time.  She reached for him, took his hand in hers and watched as he looked up into her eyes.

“What happened out there?”  She questioned and watched as Sam smiled, shaking his head.

“I told you, I saw Serena.”  He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling.  “She told me about who she was, or who she was the reincarnation of, and that I was supposed to be her lover, but you were the one that stopped the spell from being completed, when you found me in the woods.”

“So she’s supposed to be Artemis?”

“From what she explained to me.”

“And, you’re Orion.”  Sam nodded and watched as Beth glanced over at the wall of Gods. “It makes sense you know, Goddess of the Hunt and her hunter.”

“It doesn’t make sense, Beth.”  Sam argued. “I mean to everyone else it makes some kind of sense but to me, it’s just bullshit.” He moved the chair closer to the counter and leaned over.  “She asked me if I had taken care of you and Dean.” Beth’s look of confusion matched his. “She also asked me one important question that makes me wonder. Why did I forget you so easily if I loved you so much?”

“It’s a memory spell, a Goddess cast it, exactly how do you fight that?”

“That’s just it, don’t you think I should have remembered anything by now?  If I loved you that much why is it that I still can’t remember?” Beth got up from her chair and moved over to stand between Sam’s legs.  She placed her hands on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I don’t know what to do, and all I want to do is remember.”

“You will, and we’ll figure out how to get your memories back.”  She smiled, and softly kissed him on the lips. Sam waited for that spark, the one that he felt when Serena touched him but it wasn’t the same.

“Beth, I’m not sure if I want it back.”  Sam whispered and took her hands in his. “If what Serena says is right, what if I don’t remember it the way that we want?  What if there is a reason I can’t remember?”

“What could be so bad that you would want your memories gone?”  Beth rested her forehead on his and smiled. “I don’t remember anything about our past being that bad.”

Sam pulled her closer and pressed his head against her chest, listening to the beat of her heart as he closed his eyes tightly, just so he could stop thinking about anything else.  Until he heard Dean yawn really loudly, which made Beth giggle. The laugher he heard being so near made a smile cross his own lips.

“Beth,” Sam whispered and looked up at her through his hair.  “I think it’s time for bed.”

“Bed sounds like fun.”  She replied and felt him let her go.  Casually she walked away, headed towards the furthest room.  On the way by the couch, she slapped Dean on the calf as his leg hung over the back of the couch.  “Goodnight, punkass!”

“Goodnight,” he said without thinking, and then suddenly he sat up, “wait?  Goodnight? It’s like not even midnight.” Sam walked by him as well, wiggling his eyebrows at him.  “OH, you mean GOOD night!” Dean lay back on the couch, crossing his arms in front of him. “Couple of freaking pervs!”

Sam stared up at the beams above him and tried hard to settle in. Beth, who was curled up against him in a sheet was deep into some wild dream, as her fingers and toes twitched.  It was cool in the bunker, there was no need for anything more than the light sheet that lay across his waist but she was wrapped up in it.

He loved the feel of her next to him, the way she fit into the spot between his arm and chest, and he would have stayed awake all night just to look at her but Dean’s moans of torment filled his ears.  The man was in the room next door, he could hear the bed rustle beneath him as they quickly turned to painful sobs. That was what stirred Beth from her sleep and she picked her head up to look at Sam. She hadn’t heard him this way before, not that he had either but the concern grew the louder he got.

“Maybe you should check on him.”  She whispered softly. Sam nodded, slipped on a pair of boxers and went around to the room next door.

Dean was drenched in sweat, the gray shirt he had on stuck to his skin as he clenched the sheet with both hands.  His back was arched in such a way that Sam almost believed he was possessed but he stepped into the room, placed a hand on his brother’s chest and pushed him gently down to the bed.

“Dean.” He spoke in a calm voice and watched as his brother’s cries lessened.  “It’s okay, you’re safe.”

“No, she’s not.”  He murmured, his knuckles turning white as he pulled at the sheet.  “She’s not, Sammy, save her.”

Beth came to stand in the doorway, dressed in a tank top and shorts and watched the interaction between the two of them.  “What’s going on?”

“The Harpies spell is still on him.  He’s having nightmares about you dying.”  Sam answered, keeping his hand pressed against his brother.

“What?”  She shook her head and then sighed.  “Is that the reason he’s being such an ass?”

“You die every night in his dreams, at least from what Cas showed me.”

“This is ridiculous.”  She groaned. “Wake him up.”

“Right now, the way he is?”  

“Well you can’t leave him in that state.”  Sam reached out his hand to her and Beth walked over slowly.  He let her sit down on the bed next to Dean and took the hand he held, pressing it lightly on Dean’s chest.

“She’s here.”  Sam spoke softly.  “Dean, listen to me, do you feel her?  She’s right here.” The fingers that clenched the sheets relaxed under her touch. The painful sobs and the hurried rise and fall of his chest weakened as Beth watched Dean touch the back of her hand.  Sam tipped her head up in his direction with the side of his finger and watched the pain in her eyes. “Stay here with him, Beth.”

“What?”  The confused look crossed her face once more.  “I’m not staying here with him, Sam, I want to be with you.”

“I know, I want to you too, but he needs you now and I want you to stay with him.” Beth took a deep breath, still not sure exactly what Sam wanted her to do with his brother, but she nodded and switched spots with him, sitting on the edge of the bed.  Dean wouldn’t let go of her hand and she found a way to lean up against the headboard so that she could at least be comfortable.

“I’m not a hundred percent comfortable with this, Sam.”  She sighed. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

“I’m okay with it, he needs help.  He needs you.” Beth closed her eyes as Sam took a seat in the corner, it looked like they were in it for the long haul, but he soon closed his eyes and a quiet filled the bunker as the rain pelted the ground above.

When Sam awoke, Beth was lying down on the bed, one arm tucked up under her pillow and Dean had his head resting on her stomach.  One hand was on Beth’s, which rested on his head, and the other was on her leg, down towards her thigh. Sam couldn’t help the ping of jealousy that raced through his system, but he couldn’t find it in his heart to wake them up.

Quietly, he got dressed and made his way out into the morning sun, the light tan jacket was all he needed to fight the northern New York air. He followed a path carved out of the bushes, as if it was meant for little feet and not the ones of a man, and ducked and weaved to avoid the branches that came down to swipe him on the head.  He wasn’t on the trail long before he heard the sound of water rushing along and instinctively moved towards it.

There, along a small stream was a building, not more than five-by-seven feet wide and just a little shorter than him.  It looked like an ice shanty but he knew what he was looking at. Cautiously he moved along the line of the water, hoping to not slip in but he finally made it to the doorway, which was made of a flimsy piece of pressboard and wondered just how the small structure had survived the test of time.

Sam gingerly pushed the door open as it squeaked on the hinges and looked inside. There was nothing there of importance, a bucket and some old fishing gear but when he stepped in, the pain hit him like a bullet drilling straight through his temple.  He locked his hands to his head, trying to fight the blinding light that he felt as he knelt down on the floor and watched through clear open eyes as the memories around him appeared. It was as if he were watching it from outside his body, because he was part of the memories.  His nineteen-year-old self being bundled up by a frantic Beth as she cried over him, the fire going in a small stove, which would be the smoke that signaled their fathers. It changed to the two of them ducking in and hiding from Dean and Serena, who were arguing over the whereabouts of the pair, but he didn’t expect to see what he did next.

He was lounging back on a blanket, his shirt on the floor, looking up at the topless form of a girl with long blond hair.  She flipped it out of his face and leaned down to kiss him, but Sam turned the tables and had her pinned beneath him.

 _“You can’t tell my sister.”_  Serena smiled at him and the way that Sam looked back at her there was no doubt of what he felt or intended to do. _“She wouldn’t understand.”_

 _“What does she care, all she does is goof around with my brother.”_ Sam had replied, leaning in for the kiss as the scene carried on.  The pain in his head stopped just as suddenly as it started and Sam sat up gasping for air.  Just as his eyes focused on the figure in front of him, he realized the reason he had forgotten everything. He knew every feeling, every sorrow, every triumph from those days and he knew the one thing he never wanted to find out.

“See, Sammy,” Serena giggled as his eyes adjusted, finally making her out clearly.  “Fate.”

His vision clouded over once more, this time the headache was too much and he couldn’t hold out.  The blackness took over and he slid down into the darkness, his heart breaking.

  



	5. Who Made You Queen Bee?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the anniversary draws closer, Beth brings in a new member of the crowd, but will Sam and Dean be okay with the new addition because the one thing we all know Dean hates is witches.

Who made you Queen Bee?

SPNFanfic #5

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

THEN

 

The white Grand Am rumbled through town, and the dark-eyed woman inside loved the attention.  The closest, and only gas station in town was just to her left. She casually put the blinker on and crossed the lane of traffic, pulling up to the nearest pump.  The New York license plate read WHTWCH across the front and everyone in town knew just who she was.

Rebecca Marshall, Becca for short, hadn’t always been the “talk of the town”, that honor had gone to the Peterson family many years ago. Since Paul’s passing and Beth leaving, she had become the new Queen Bee. All the buzz stirred around her, but no one wanted to believe that what they were saying was true.  

She turned off the engine, slid out of the car and watched as a man in his mid-forties, Darrell, stepped out of the building, headed straight for her.  He smiled at her with a crooked grin, meaning no malice, it was just in his stature. He stepped with a limp and hung one arm lower than the other, but she always remembered his name, and the fact that he was one of the nicest people in town.  He never judged her just tipped his hat and began to fill the car with gas.

There was something off that day, something not quite right about him.  His eyes seemed a little different, older and wiser but she shrugged it off and struck up a conversation with him as per her usual.  It wasn’t until his brother, not much older, but more of a hard-ass stuck his head out of the office door and watched them, that things were definitely feeling a little more on the odd side.  Cliff stared at them, his eyes shaded under the brim of his Walker Brother’s Garage hat, not saying a word, but Becca couldn’t seem to shake the energy in the air. 

She kept on with the conversation when she spotted the third of the brothers making his way out from the bay area, wiping his hands on the already dirty cloth that was tucked into the waist of his overalls.  This one was the youngest, at least she thought so, named Melvin and it was then that she knew something strange was about to go down around town. Melvin had this look to him, not evil or sadistic but knowledgeable without having to make eye contact. His eyes shifted at a rapid pace.  She knew these feelings, she knew this trio and she knew the power that grew around them.

With a quick thank you to Darrell, she gave him a twenty and got back in the car.  He knocked on her window and Becca tried her hardest to smile a she rolled it down.

“It was only eleven dollars, Ms. Becca.”  Darrell said, waving the bill at her.

“It’s okay, hon, you keep the rest for always being such a big help.”  He smiled at her, the innocence still in his face. “Have a nice day.” And with that she started the car and drove out of the station.  

She wasn’t far from home, not more than a mile but there was something she needed to do and digging through the pocketbook beside her, she finally found what she was looking for.  With the cellphone in hand, she pressed a talk-to-text button and gathered her nerves before speaking.

“Call Elizabeth Peterson.”  She said directly and watched as the name and number popped up on the screen.

“Calling…” the computerized voice sang over the speaker.  It rang twice before she heard it connect.

A sleepy grunt came over the line before any words were spoken.   _ “Peterson.” _

“Beth, it’s Becca.”  She spoke in a normal tone, as she placed the phone on the cradle.

_ “Becca, it’s six in the morning.” _  Beth moaned.  

“And your happy ass should be out of bed.”  Becca giggled, forgetting her troubles for a moment, but the smile faded. “I need you here in town, we have something that kind of just popped up.”

_ “Nothing in that town just “pops up”, Becca, but you’re in luck.  I happen to be at the bunker with the boys.” _  Beth’s voice sounded a little more awake as Becca started to hear the coffee machine in the background.   _ “Give me a few hours, there’s a couple little things I have to take care of and I’ll be by.” _

“This is important, Peterson, so don’t let them tie you down.”  Beth laughed on the other end of the line and then hung up just as Becca pulled into her driveway.  She drew a deep breath, grabbed her stuff and made her way to the second-floor apartment, glancing up at the wards above the door before closing it behind her.

 

NOW

 

Sam watched Beth’s face, the way that it scrunched up, her eyes squinting at the feeling, brought a sadistic smile to his face as he sat on the bench in front of her.  She was holding her shirt over the rest of her bra, exposing the swell of her breasts and her shoulders, her breath came in long, deep inhales and for each tug, there was a defined moment of “I hate you”, but Sam kept right on doing his task.

She turned her head, looking at the green-eyed man beside her and stuck out her tongue, but Dean just went with it, trying not to react as he munched down on a tuna fish sandwich.  It didn’t bother him at all that Sam was pulling stitches from her skin. The doctor did say seven days and there was no way she was leaving the itchy bastards in any longer. The boys were so used to treating themselves, they could tell when things were pretty much where they should be.

“I don’t know why you just don’t let me call Cas and have him heal you.”  Dean stated as he placed the half-eaten sandwich on his plate.

“They make me look badass.”  She grinned and winked at him.  Dean rolled his eyes, he thought they just reminded her of how vulnerable she was.  “Anyway, why would I want  _ your  _ Angel’s grubby little paws on any part of my body.”

“Come on, you know you want that heavenly feeling.”  Dean picked as he watched her face grimace again, and then she laughed.

“Project much?”  Dean sat back and looked between them.

Finishing what was in his mouth, he glared at her. “I don’t need to sit here and take this.”  He grabbed his plate and walked over to the couch. 

Sam smiled at the whole exchange as he finally finished with the first row of stitches, it was time to move onto the largest of the wounds. “You should really go easy with the whole Castiel thing.”

“Oh, come on, Sam, it’s so fun to tease him.”  

Sam nodded in agreement.  “But when he comes back at you, I don’t want to hear it. It bothers him, he just doesn’t let it show.”  Beth gave a quick breath for the first stitch of the new line and Sam watched Dean turn around on the couch.  “You good?”

“Yeah, that one’s stuck pretty tight.”  The playful look in her eyes disappeared with the pull of the small silk string.  “I think I’m going to need a drink for this one.”

“It’s ten in the morning.”   Dean yelled.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.”  Her leg started twitching as she felt him go for the next one.  “Please, don’t be gentle.”

“That’s what she said!”  Dean laughed.

“Shut up, Dean.” Both replied in unison and exchanged smiles.  Dean just made his “excuse me” face and went right back to the sandwich in hand.

“Are you ready?”  Sam questioned as he pulled at the knot with tweezers.

“Let’em rip.”  Beth took a deep breath and listened for the scissor snip before she felt the pain of the tug, letting out a quiet groan.  “Oh, God, I think I might need that angel after all.”

“You want me to call him?”  Dean asked, but Beth shook her head in the middle of another being removed.  Dean didn’t like to see her in pain, in fact he hated it all together, which was why he had moved to the couch, but it didn’t stop him from turning and watching just to make sure.

She swayed a little bit as Sam continued and he quickly looked at his brother.  Dean raced over, bracing Beth back against him as she closed her eyes and breathed through the process.  It didn’t stop at that line, it went on to the second. They were deeper than the other two and all she could do to keep her eyes open was squeeze her hand on Dean’s thigh.

Dean, who could feel her fingernails digging in, opened his eyes and his mouth wide as he stared at Sam, who was grinning as he moved along the line, trying to do it as safely but as quickly as possible. 

“Did you find out anything new?”  Sam asked quietly as Beth forced her eyes open.

“The locals said they’ve had problems with a large animal attack for almost twenty years.  Long before you or Serena were taken.” She explained, letting her breath come with the tug of the stitches.  “They thought it was a bear, or several, but nothing was ever done about it.”

“Bear, why is it always a bear?”  Dean questioned and shook his head.  “Could we go with something else, like a mountain lion?”

“How about a Wendigo?” Beth laughed.

“Oh, hell no, those things are ugly as all get out.”  

Sam shook his head. “Bears in this area are just a likely cop-out. No one wants to admit a three-headed dog was the one that ate their labradoodle.” 

“Labra-what?”  

“It’s a mix of Labrador and poodle.”  Beth answered and tilted her head back so she could watch Dean’s expression.  Yep, it was exactly what she thought it was. 

“Who thinks of this stuff?” Dean leaned down and kissed her on the forehead as Sam tugged at a particularly hard stitch and the hand that was holding the table reached out and grasped Sam’s shoulder.  

“I’m done.” She shook her head, her eyes connecting to Sam’s.  “Move on to the smaller one. I can’t take that line anymore.”

“Are you sure?”  Sam whispered. She nodded, catching her breath as he pulled the shirt down just a little bit, exposing more of her bra and followed the stitching along the shallow wound.  The stitches slipped out easily and he could hear the relief with each breath she took.

Sam cleaned out where he had removed things with warm soap and water before patting it dry and Dean moved back towards the couch, diverting his eyes as she pulled the shirt back on.  

“Maybe two more days before we take the other ones out.”  Sam suggested.

“How about never?”  Beth asked as she went to the cabinet and grabbed a glass. They had done a store run the day before and made sure the cabinets were stocked, as well as the refrigerator, so she was able to grab a two-liter of soda from the door.

“First thing in the morning?”  Sam smiled.

“Listen, Sport, you have your coffee right there, nice and hot in front of you and I’m going to have my soda, and we’re not going to argue about it.”  She smiled leaning across the table. Sam looked down at the way her shirt fell open, showing off the top of her chest. He nodded. “Besides,” she backed up, “pain in my keister over there won’t let me drink before noon.” 

Dean walked by her with a “ha-ha” expression on his face and ducked as she swatted an arm in his direction. “What’s on the agenda for today?”  Dean put his plate in the sink, turned on the water and washed it off quickly.

“Firewood.”  Beth whispered, staring at the calendar for a moment before she gave each of them a look.  “I need firewood brought over to the north end of the field for the memorial later.”

Dean’s eyes filled with sadness as Sam gave them each a quick look.  “Firewood it is.”

“Great,” she perked up.  “I need to go into town. You two stay out of trouble.”  Beth slipped on her shoes, grabbed a light jacket and made her way up the ladder.

They watched her leave before turning back to each other.  Dean leaned against the sink as Sam crossed his arms on the table in front of him.  “She’ll be alright, won’t she?”

“It’s the day her dad died.  Are you okay on the anniversary every year?”  Dean questioned seriously.

“I’m not alright on any day when I think of him.”

“Exactly.”  He went over to grab his boots as Sam turned in the chair.  

“Hey, Dean,”

“Yeah?”

“It’s still a New Moon, what do you think the chances of the Cerberus coming back are?”

“With Beth’s luck?”  He gave a shrug and tied his laces.  “Maybe we should load the mags just in case.”

 

Beth stopped before she ducked into the Mustang and watched the sky as it grew dark with rain clouds, there was definitely something headed this way and she needed to know what it was before it arrived.  With a quick glance at the cabin, she shut the door and revved the engine before taking off in the direction of the town. 

She pulled the Mustang up to the curb, cut the engine and stepped out, looking up at the two story building.  She wished she could forget about the town she grew up in but there were too many people that knew her and knew the story of her father’s death.  Where she was going was to the one person that never judged and actually understood what she did for a “job”.

The entranceway to the second floor was a separate door on the side of the building and she quickly bound up the steps to the unlocked and opened door. Bohemian Rhapsody blared throughout the house as Beth stepped up to the doorway.  She glanced around at the sigils that were carved into the wood and then quietly stepped inside.

A lanky white and tan cat met her at the door and she squatted down to pet him before looking up at the woman standing in the kitchen.  Her dark, knowing eyes were alive with joy.

“You didn’t bring the hotties in the Impala?”  Becca Marshall asked as Beth stood and hugged her old friend.

“Those two aren’t hotties, they’re the pain in the ass boys that used to haunt my doorstep.”  Beth replied as they sat down at the table together.

“Ah yes, the Winchester boys.”  Beth nodded as Becca made her a cup of coffee.  “Chicky, I don’t know what you are looking at but even back then those boys were hot.”

“They grew into some nice looking men too.”  She laughed and accepted the cup graciously. Becca’s smile faded.  

“It’s that time of year again isn’t it?”  Beth gave a few nods and looked around the house but she didn’t answer. “What do you need from me?”

“Always the wiser of the two of us,” she grinned, “can you come down and do the rites?”

“Anything for you, do I get to see your boys?”  

“Of course, they’re setting up the place now, at least I hope they are.”  Becca watched her face carefully and then slammed her hand on the table, bringing Beth back to reality.  “What the hell was that for?”

“Pff, you were neck deep in a Winchester daydream,” she laughed aloud.  “Which one is it this time?”

“Both,” Beth growled and sipped the coffee, watching Becca sit back.  “Are you shocked?”

“Nope, you could never decide between them.  You love Dean, you’re in love with Sam. Hell for a while there I was about to kidnap one or the other just to get you to choose.”  Beth laughed and shook her head. “So, what’s going on?”

“Sam’s finally starting to remember but the last few days he’s been acting kind of strange and Dean is being his overprotective self. I’m just not sure what page we’re on yet in that novel so we’re just playing our roles.”  

“Anything weird going on?”

“Cerberus.”

“Fluffy?”

“Meaner, uglier and downright dangerous.”  Beth explained and leaned her arms on the table.  “Sam remembered it taking him, so we’re pretty certain that it’s what took Serena.  He said he saw her in the woods the other night, and we’re pretty sure “Fluffy” took up residence nearby.”

“Hmm, that wouldn’t surprise me. A lot of people have been seeing strange things around the property, it’s why they were warned to stay away, and why I called you this morning.”  Beth watched as Becca stood and grabbed a book off the shelf. She placed it down on the table and slid it across. “You forgot this last time you were here.”

“Dad’s journal?  I figured you could use some reading.  I was chasing that damned cursed doll for ages, it’s when I met up with the boys.  I couldn’t settle that one on my own.” Beth slipped the journal into her pocket and shrugged.  “What time are you coming out tonight?”

“Maybe nine, same time as usual.”  Beth stood up and leaned over, hugging Becca.  

“Bring your anti-Cerberus spray, you might need some dog repellant.”  She smiled and Becca laughed as Beth made her way out the door without saying goodbye, it was the usual way they left each other, no goodbyes were a strict rule.  She made her way down to the car and stopped. Something in her gut turned and she searched around as she grabbed the keys from her pocket. Down at the end of the street stood a woman, someone that everyone was just passing by, but Beth knew that blonde hair anywhere and there was no doubt of who it was.  “Serena?”

_ He’ll be mine again by the next new moon, count on that Little Sister. _ A voice sang in her head.  Beth didn’t understand but Serena was gone.  With a racing heart, she ducked into the sports car and took off for the house.  She had to check on the boys.

 

Sam watched as Dean broke up branches with his knees and placed them on the pyre. He peered up as Sam made his way over, but the cautious way he walked alerted the older of the two that there was something on his brother’s mind.

“Are you going to stand there or are you going to help me with this?”  Dean asked as he continued to snap the branches. Sam picked up a couple of dry sticks and broke them slowly.  “What’s on your mind, Sammy?”

“I had a memory.”  Sam sulked, tossing the branches into the pile.  The expression on his face made Dean stop and look at him.

“Good?  Bad?”

“I don’t know if you’d want to know.”  Sam jammed his hands into his jean pockets.

“Why not?”  Dean waited a minute before pressing more.  “Sam?”

“You might punch me again and I’m still bruised from the last time you laid one on me.”  Sam was being honest, there was no way around it. He knew that what he was about to say would really set his brother off. Dean sighed loudly.

“I can’t make any promises but let’s hear it.”  Dean stood, feet apart, shoulders squared with his arms crossed, looking the part of the big brother.

“The other morning, after the Cerberus attack, I walked out to the small hut near the river where Beth said she found me.”

“And?”

“And I had a vision, it was a couple actually. Beth saving me, her and I hiding from you and Serena and then one of Serena and I together.”  Sam looked up at his brother as Dean let it sink in a little.

“Excuse me?” The vast confusion on Dean’s face about what he had just heard made Sam take a step back.  He wasn’t afraid of his brother, he would rather not get hit. 

“Apparently, Serena and I slept together.”  Dean danced in his spot, his hands clenching his own jacket to keep him from moving.  

“Are you sure, because it could be just a suggestive dream? She was in your head pretty deep the other night.”  Dean tried to defend him but Sam shook his head. 

“None of these memories have been false, all of them have had some sort of validation from you or Beth, there’s no reason to think this one’s planted.”  Sam shook his head. “I guess I was jealous at one point because the two of you were spending so much time together, at least that’s what I gathered.” He sat down on a stump that was nearby and watched as Dean let it all run through his head.

“So you slept with your girlfriend’s sister?”  Dean tried to keep his tone quiet and even.

“You slept with my girlfriend, remember?”  Sam gave him a look of annoyance. 

“After you forgot her,” Dean shook his head.  “Look, forget that, what are you going to do?”

“I’m not going to let Serena convince me that I don’t have feelings for Beth, and I’m certainly not going to let her turn me into Orion. What else am I supposed to do with this information?  It came to the surface for a reason, Dean.” Dean unclenched his jacket and turned back to the pile of wood he was breaking. “Dean?”

His brother didn’t respond and the only thing Sam could do was help him with the wood. 

“Are you going to tell Beth?”  

“How do I do that?”  Sam questioned and watched as Dean turned towards him. “Start with: Hey I’m excited I remembered something but, oh by the way it was me sleeping with your sister?  Exactly how do you start a conversation about that?”

“I don’t know, we’ve never been in a situation like this, at least I haven’t.”  Dean chucked the last stick he had in his hand and started to walk way.

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk, before I smack you upside the head!”  Dean yelled back and walked off towards the woods. Sam sighed and sat down.  He had no idea what he was going to do with what he remembered and he knew that it would be hard for Beth to hear it.

 

Sam looked up as the Mustang flew down the drive, kicking up as much dirt as it could with chunks of grass that flew in every direction.  She came to a screeching stop right in front of the shack and got out of the car. With one look in his direction, as he broke branches to build the bonfire, she sized him up before she looked around the field.

“Where’s Dean?”  She yelled from where she stood and watched as he shrugged.

“Getting more wood.”  Beth took off into the trees faster than Sam had ever seen her move and he decided that if she was running, he should be too.

“Dean!”  She screamed out as she made her way down the trails.  The brush was thick and hard to maneuver around but the momentum never stopped until she hit a solid wall, and that wall went crashing down with her on top.   

“Oof!”  Dean moaned trying to catch his breath as he looked around, branches had flown everywhere but it didn’t stop Beth from grabbing him by the face.  As he struggled to breathe, since she was straddling his stomach, she looked deep into his eyes. 

“Dean, is that you?”  She whispered quietly.

“Get off me, you pint-sized pain in the ass!”  He coughed and grabbed her hips. “I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry.”  She mumbled and moved over beside him as Sam came around the corner, and stopped to look at the strange scene in front of him.  Beth went back and forth between them, as Dean pushed himself up with his arms stretched out behind him supporting his weight.

“Want to explain what the hell that was?”  Dean questioned. “You nearly killed me.”

“I said I was sorry.”  She ran a hand through her hair and focused on him.  “I saw Serena in town, she got into my head.”

“What do you mean in your head?”  Sam crouched down so that they were all on the same level and watched her eyes fill with fear.

“By the next new moon, one of you will be hers again. That’s what she said in my head, telepathically.”  She shrugged and watched as the color drained from Sam’s face, but Dean reached out and grabbed her arm, bringing her attention to him. 

“She’s not getting anyone.”  He reassured her, but the expression didn’t change.  “Beth, hey, look at me.” Her eyes came up to stare at him.  “She’s not going to get either of us.” He looked up at his brother.  “Right, Sammy?”

“Right.”  Sam agreed and sat down in the pine needles.  “We just have to figure out how she intends on getting what she wants and stop her.”

“I think it’s obvious what she wants.”  Beth replied and the two of them snapped in her direction.  “She wants Sam, the Gods had him before but he got away, it would only make sense that they want him back.”  

“Yeah, that’s exactly the reason.”  Dean mumbled and received a knowing glare from Sam.  “We need to figure out how to trap her.”

“I think I might know someone.”  Beth could suddenly feel her heart pounding against her chest and she pressed a hand to it.  “She’s coming tonight.” The pounding became pain, sharp as a knife and she doubled over, placing one hand on the ground to hold herself up, trying to catch any air as her lungs began to spasm.

“Beth?”  Sam asked, grabbing her arm.

“What’s going on?”  Dean was right beside her as she glanced around.  

“We’ve got to get out of here.”  She whispered breathlessly as the pain shot through her again.  Sam pulled her up to her feet and then scooped her into his arms as Dean pulled the gun from the back of his jeans.  Her head rolled back into the crook of Sam’s elbow and with bright blue eyes, ones that seemed electrified, she stared at Dean.  “Run!” He barely heard her but when a jolt went through her body, causing Sam to almost drop her, the only word that left her mouth was plainly heard,  “RUN!”

 

Once they had figured out how to get her down into the bunker, Sam waiting on the bottom as Dean lowered her down, they set her gently down on the couch, her body still going through the shocks as her eyes burned brighter.

“She has the tattoo, what’s going on?”  Sam whispered, more to himself than Dean.

“CAS!!”  Dean screamed at the top of lungs, probably for the fourteenth time since they entered the bunker.  “Get your happy Angel ass down here.”

“He can’t get in.”  The voice from Beth’s mouth wasn’t hers but someone else’s and both looked at her as she sat up straight on the couch, arms limp at her side.  

“What do you mean he can’t get in?” Dean’s voice growled as he stepped closer to the girl on the couch.  “And who are you?”

“This bunker is warded against Angels,” she said and turned towards Sam, tilting her head, “and Demons.”

“So what are you? Casper the friendly ghost?”  This made her look back at Dean.

“I am so much more than that, but you must understand this, Elizabeth needs to be protected.”

“Then what are you doing inside her?”  Sam questioned. “You’re shocking her body, she could have a heart attack.”

“She is safe.  Her body was also warded against both and only I am allowed to enter.”

“I swear if you don’t tell me who you are right now, I will find a way to kill you without harming her.”  Dean’s temper made whatever was inside Beth smile widely. 

“Save your temper for the real enemy, Dean Winchester, for you are about to face a very powerful foe.”  She turned to Sam, her bright eyes locked on him. “You will be tested, Sam Winchester, tested beyond anything you have seen so far.  This is more powerful than Lucifer himself and the gates of hell, for we are older than time immemorial.”

“You’re a God?”  Sam questioned. 

“Goddess.”  She smiled again and reached up touching his cheek.  “Artemis possesses a very strong vessel but we are more powerful.  We are the ones that are not controlled, we are the supreme ones.”

“So how is being in Beth helping us any?”

“She is a North Wind, the last of her kind, she possess powers beyond anything that mortals will ever see.  It is why Artemis chose her sister, because there was no way to take over this body.”

“She tried?”  

“Yes, Sam, she tried several times.  When the mother died, when she was lost in the caves, when you disappeared, when Serena was taken.”  She glanced at Dean and tilted her head to the side as if contemplating whether or not to continue, but she turned back to Sam.  “Beth knows about your encounter with Serena, she always has but she would not admit it before, because she lost you after that. It was a memory buried deep and there was no need to retrieve it. She has it now.”  Once again those blue eyes were on Dean’s. “She loves you Dean, more than she knows, more than she wants to admit, just as she loves Sam. She will not choose between you, and she will not choose just one of you.”

“So, what, you’re saying we become a threesome?”  Dean looked a little uncomfortable even saying it but the Goddess just smiled and looked at Sam.

“You cannot keep her from him, but it will be only you.”

“Only me?”  Sam swallowed.  “Only me what?” The Goddess’ grin turned almost creepy and the electric blue started to fade from her eyes. “Wait, how do we stop her?  How do we catch Artemis?”

“I just told you.”  The light was gone, as if snuffed out and Beth’s body flopped back on the couch like dead weight.  Dean ran over quickly and knelt beside her. 

“Beth?”  He questioned, shaking her gently.  With the tips of his fingers, he tapped her on the cheek. “Beth, wake up.”  Her lids fluttered for a moment and suddenly she sat straight up, her hand clenching her heart.  She didn’t say anything, just quickly breathed in and out, as if testing her lungs. “Beth?”

“What the hell was that?”  She nearly yelled and looked at the boys with surprise and exhilaration.  “Who…wait, was I possessed?”

Sam laughed, he couldn’t hold it in.  The way she said it was as if she were excited by the experience but still completely confused.  Dean stared up at him, unsure of how to deal with any of it and he licked his lips.

“Not possessed by a demon anyway.”  He shrugged. 

Beth hopped off the couch, which made Dean sit back a little as the two of them watched her move through the bunker to the wall that was covered in papers.  She ripped off a couple until she came down to one.

“What are you doing?” Dean questioned.

“I know who it was.”  She stepped back and looked at the woman in the painting before her, beautifully depicted in a white flowing gown with dark hair and a golden crown. “Hera.”

“As in Zeus’ wife Hera?”  Sam asked as he stepped up and looked at the painting. 

“Wait, you were awake in there?” Dean’s voice was full of concern as she nodded.  “But the electricity?”

“It didn’t hurt once she took over.”  He was surprised at how much energy she had but said nothing as she continued to move around papers.  

“So, she was his wife and one of three sisters apparently.”  Beth said as she grabbed a seat at the counter, which got a look from Dean that could only be described as being creeped out.  Sam and Dean both sat down, Dean beside her, Sam on the other side of the counter. “Artemis and Apollo are Zeus’ children from Leto and Hera apparently was not at all pleased with her player of a husband.  While Artemis is usually the Virgin Goddess, I don’t think this is the case at the moment. Someone is pinning Gods against Gods.”

“Okay so that explains the Who, now let’s figured out the why?”  Dean added, turning to her. “She called you a North Wind, like Cas?”

“No, Cas is an Angel, a North Wind is basically a winter wind.”  She stopped for a moment and Sam watched her bite her lip. “She said I was a North Wind, last of my kind.”  Beth got up and grabbed the journal out of her jacket. When she sat back down she flipped through the leather bound pages.  “My dad always used to say that Serena was a fire and I was like a breath of cold air.” Sam looked at her strangely. “I know, cool air but he specifically said cold.”

“So you’re a chilly ice queen.”  Dean shrugged.

“And you’re a major jerk.”  Beth smiled as she looked up at him, pinched his cheeks and then went back to the book, finally stopping on a page.  “Here it is.” She turned the book around, pointing at a hand drawn family tree. “What does it look like?”

“A bunch of squiggly lines, did your dad not know how to draw?”  Dean asked and she backhanded his arm.

“Actually, it kind of looks like a cloud,” Sam replied, taking the journal as the two of them stared up at him.  “Not clouds like in the sky, but you know the drawings of Old Man Winter with the puff of cold air that he’s blowing.  This is exactly like that but it’s a family tree.”

“I’m confused.” Dean sighed.  

“Not a hard thing to accomplish.”  He rolled his eyes as her one-liners were getting old, but Beth winked at him before looking at the book.   “This is my mother’s line, and I’m literally the last one of it.”

“Your mother’s family was from the northern part of Greece, but why would that make your sister something different?”  Sam commented.

“We didn’t have the same mother.”  Beth admitted. “Serena was two when my parents got together.  Her mother left when she found out that Dad was a hunter, but she didn’t take Serena with her, and she never came back.”

“Well if that doesn’t make you an open book for accepting a God’s offer.”  Dean grabbed the book and thumbed through the pages.

“Serena never felt accepted.  It’s why she was the way she was, always had to be more beautiful, always had to be better, always…”

“Had to have what her sister did.”  Sam ended her sentence, which made both Dean and Beth look up at him.  “She said you knew.”

“And I don’t care.”  Beth replied, shrugging.  “Sam, you don’t remember that summer, what you remember is the act of it.  Yes, Dean and I were close, we were both going through some major stuff, but she was on you like a fox, and I knew it was going to come to that sooner or later.  She had claws, and she could sink her teeth into anyone just by batting an eye.”

“You’re saying that it’s alright?”  Sam questioned, confused.

“I’m saying, it was going to happen eventually.”  Beth sighed and placed both of her hands on the table.  “What Serena wanted, she got, especially if it belonged to me.”

“Did you fight?” Sam questioned, demandingly.

“Of course I fought.” Her eyes filled with hurt at the assumption that she had just given up on him. Sam stepped back, his chest heaving as he looked at her. “I fought to keep you close, I fought to help you understand the truth behind her actions.  I fought to keep us together and do you know what that fighting got me?” Beth dropped her hands to her side and she watched him. “You accused me of being with Dean, because he wouldn’t leave my side, because he knew what she was up to, still I never gave up.  Until you did.”

“What?”

“The night the hound came, you were taken and when you came back, you had no memories of me, because you gave them up!  And despite what you might believe based on what SHE told you, it wasn’t because you didn’t love me, Sam, you gave them up because you thought you had hurt me too much for me to understand that it happened at all.”  Dean reached his hand out for her but Beth backed away. “You feel guilty for what happened, but you shouldn’t, and that’s why they haven’t come back, because you haven’t forgiven yourself.”

Beth stepped past the table, and headed up the ladder to the shack above.  Sam swallowed hard, trying to keep his composure as his eyes stayed trained on the last place he had seen her go.  It was then that he turned back to Dean.

“What do you think she meant by she wasn’t going to choose just one of us?”  Dean whispered. Sam glanced over at him and then walked away, into the bedroom.  The way he shut the door seemed to shake the whole foundation. Dean sighed and followed Beth out of the bunker.  He found her not far away, staring at the stack of wood set for the fire. “Hey, you really shouldn’t go out unarmed.”

She pulled the gun from the back of her waist and waved it in the air, then made it disappear, tucking it away again.  “I’ve never been so confused.”

“I’m here, talk to me.”  He stepped up beside her, studying her profile.

“My sister is a Goddess, and I’m the only one who can kill her?”  She gave a grin but it was full of sarcasm and irony. “I admit, I didn’t like her but I don’t hate her enough to kill her.”

“Sam asked me to do that so many times to him when he was having problems.  No matter what he did, there was no way it was going to come to that.” Dean shrugged.

“She’s right you know, Hera.  I love you, and I love Sam. I always have but I can’t be with you.”  She turned to look up at him, and he watched the tear stream down her face.  “As much as I want both of you, I can’t be with you.” 

“I get that.”  Dean smiled and reached out, pulling her close. “I wouldn’t want you to give up Sam a second time.”  His eyes focused on the woods, scanning the area. “And as much as I want you too, he wants you more, or he will when he figures it out.”

“Sounds like a soap opera, doesn’t it?”  Beth laughed as she wrapped her arms around him.  “Two brothers, one lover…blah, blah.” 

“Sounds kinky, that’s for sure.”  Which got another deep laugh from Beth.  “I would never hurt you like that, and the kiss back at the motel.  I was so angry that I couldn’t keep you from dying that it just took over.”

“You think I’m mad over a kiss like that?”  Beth stepped back and gave him a wide grin. “It’s been awhile since anyone kissed me like that,” and Dean smiled proudly, “not that it gives you an invitation to do it again, because next time I’ll put you down, but Dean we both understand what we have, at least I do, and I’m certainly not going to fault you on it.”

“Oh good, because I thought I was in for the beating of my life.”  His voice sounded like he was trying to smile but he let out a deep exhale and put his cheek against the top of her head for a moment, not wanting to let her go.  “So, who’s this person you’re inviting over for the party?”

“An old friend.”  Beth smirked. “And I know it goes against everything we hunt for but listen, she’s a Wiccan.”  Dean stopped for a minute.

“A witch?”  He stepped back and looked at her.  “You know we hunt things like her.”

“She’s not a thing, in fact, she’s religious, she just happens to have certain talents.”  Beth’s cell phone vibrated against her pocket and she laughed as she took it out, showing him the screen.  “A very handy set of talents.” She swiped left and the phone went to speaker. “Becca?”

“ _ Elizabeth Peterson, what the hell was that???” _  The woman on the other end hollered through the phone.  _ “And tell that Winchester kid to stop looking at you like you’re nuts.” _  Dean looked around and watched as Beth raised her eyebrows.  “ _ Anyway, it feels like every Olympian in the universe just descended on our little hole in the wall.” _

“Not all, just Hera.”  Beth sighed. “Do you think you could come before the rites tonight, we have things to discuss?”

_ “How about now?”   _ They watched as the white Grand Am pulled up through the bushes and Beth smiled.

“You read my mind.”  She said and hung up the phone.  Grabbing Dean’s hand, she grinned up at him.  “Come on, I’ll introduce you to one of the whitest witches in the world.”

Becca stepped out of the car, grabbing a pocketbook and two large duffle bags.

“She packs like a hunter.”  Dean observed.

“She almost was one, when we had some issues after Dad died.”  Becca stopped what she was doing, and stared at the two approaching people.  She hugged Beth tightly again for the second time that day and looked at Dean with contemplation.   “Becca Marshall, Dean Winchester.”

“Oh yeah I do remember that smug little face.”  Becca laughed, which got a chuckle from Beth.

“You know me?”  Dean questioned.

“You used to ride through town in that Impala every year, couple times the first few years, just to come out here, there was no denying who you were.  It was like you had a white light following you, like an Angel on your shoulders.” Becca said seriously but then smiled. “And I used to see you when you came to visit Beth.  She kept you close, you…you kept her closer.” She turned to her friend and shrugged. “You’re going to make me crawl down into that thing, aren’t you?”

“You have to meet the third party.”  Beth grinned and the three of them entered the shack, Dean having grabbed her bags.  Once all feet were on the floor, the door to the bedroom opened and Beth watched as Sam glanced back and forth between them. “ Becca, meet Sam.”

“Oh, now this one I certainly do remember.”  She walked up to the tall man and looked up at him.  “Something’s different this time.”

“Do I know you?”  He questioned in a quiet tone.

“Actually, yes, you and I have met several times,” she glanced back at Beth and Dean, “Dean and I were the ones that never officially met.”  

Beth felt Dean nudge her, and she looked up at him from the corner of her eyes.  With a quick tick of his head to the left, he started to walk away from the others in the room.  Sam watched him leave and gave Beth a look, but all she could do was shrug and follow the older brother.

“Don’t mind them, he’s just not quite sure of me yet.”  Becca brought her bags over to the counter and was pleased that Sam decided to follow.

“So how many times did we actually meet?”  He questioned as he sat down and watched Becca unpack.  She stopped what she was doing and closed her eyes, counting on her fingers as she thought about it.  

“Seven times,” was all she answered and went back to the collection of books, candles and stones that she dug out.

“Wait,” he stared, “are you a witch?”

“Yep, always have been, and you knew that back then too.” Becca grinned.  “You and Beth used to come over to my house late at night, of course we were younger so you had to sneak in, and believe it or not, you used to watch me do rituals.”

“Like black magic?”

“I don’t do black, honey, I’m pretty much as vanilla as they come.”  Sam started to smile at the way she worded her sentences. “When Paul passed and you boys were gone, Beth came to live with me, or live as close to me as Beth could get.  She took up hunting and there were times that I didn’t see her for weeks on end. One night she would just appear on my couch, beaten and broken, but the next morning she would shake it off and start all over again.”  Becca stopped and leaned on the counter, looking him straight in the eyes. “She never gave up, especially on you. She knew something was out there that took your memories and she was determined to find it. Just her luck that she found you before she found it.”

The two of them looked over towards Dean and Beth who stood in the corner, deep in conversation.

 

Beth tapped her foot as she listened to his lecture.  

“A witch, any kind of witch can walk in here but you have it warded against demons and angels?  What the hell, Beth? I get that she’s your friend and a white witch but none of the ones I have ever met turned out to be anything but bad.  Do you realize what you’re playing with here?” Dean’s voice was low, and not just in volume, but his tone was as if he were scolding a younger sibling.  

“Not just any one, Dean, just her.  How do you think I got the wards?” She frowned in anger.  “Listen she knew how to ward off both of them, hell she even warded off other witches but you have to understand something about her.  She was there when you two were gone, I had no one else. I had to rely on my instincts and they have never steered me wrong.”

“So what is she going to do for us now?”

“She’s going to find a way to trap the Cerberus, maybe a way to contain Serena.”  Beth took a deep breath, stood straight and looked into his eyes. She could always tell the difference between his protection and his frustration and at her words his eyes switched colors. “I have to know that I’m doing everything in my power to keep my sister from going to hell, that banishing this Goddess won’t keep her from joining my parents, and I have to know all of it before I go and chop off her head.”

With that, she turned and walked towards the pair at the counter.  Dean lowered his head, placed his hands on his hips and closed his eyes.  He hadn’t thought of what she might have to do to Serena, but the prospect of watching her do it suddenly made his heart thump.  How could he let her do something like that and live through it unscathed? With a deep breath, he gathered himself and made his way to the counter with the others.

Beth stood beside Sam, who had grabbed a stool and placed one leg behind her and the other tucked in front.  Dean stepped up beside her as well, watching as Becca placed candles, a cauldron and stones around in patterns that he hadn’t seen in any of the rituals before, but as he took in everything she did, Becca glanced up at him.

“Olympians are old world, Dean, you can’t just do any Pagan spell to get them to answer.” She spoke up, trying to help ease him into what she was about to do.

“I thought you were Wiccan.”  He questioned.

“We all come from the same source, Gods and Goddesses.  The only difference is the way you say it.” With that she mumbled a few words in Latin and blew on one candle, which lit them all, making him step back.  “It’s a simple fire spell, to get the magic flowing. You’re lucky. If you were here last week, the three of you would have been more engaged and less dressed.” Beth couldn’t help the cough that kept her from giggling as Dean and Sam both looked at each other wide-eyed.  “I’m kidding. Relax, there aren’t any sexual aspects of this.”

“Not yet, you haven’t conjured up Aphrodite.”  Beth smiled. 

“Shush, you perv,” Becca laughed and closed her eyes.  “I’m trying to concentrate.” They listened as she spoke something other than Latin, something none of them had ever heard but as she did, the volume grew as if she were invoking it and suddenly she went silent.  Her eyes turned pale white and she stared directly at Beth. “North Wind,” it spoke, a man’s deep voice vibrated through Becca, “what is it that you seek?”

“Hermes, God of Knowledge, we humbly beg for your help to trap a sister, a hunter.  We know someone is controlling the Gods of old but can you tell us how to vanquish this one so that we can search for your captor?”  Beth spoke politely as she bowed her head, both boys looked on in amazement. 

“Who is this hunter that you seek?”  

“The Goddess Artemis.”  She watched Becca nod slowly.

“It is not a trap you seek, but a binding spell to make her weak.  In fields of green, while fires burn, a wind of Basil, Thyme, and Earth will bring about a turning stone that will break her from interim home.  This is not an easy task, for the vessel once empty will pass. A shard of glass that lightning struck should pierce the heart, and bring about the needed spark.”  Becca glanced at the two boys, her eyes still white with possession. “Beware, my soldiers, for you will find, the Cerberus will be not far behind. It grows in strength with the darkened moon, and only your need will be its doom.”

Becca’s head fell forward, stopping just before it hit the table and she slowly sat back, whispering the spell backwards this time, releasing the God and thanking him for his words before she snuffed out the first candle, which in turn put them all out.

“Did it help?”  Beth looked at her, the emotions on her face were blank and suddenly she moved out of the way of Sam’s legs, headed for the back room.  “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

“Hermes?”  Sam asked, in total awe of what had just happened. “You invoked Hermes?”

“Yes, they’re a bit more helpful than angels and demons.  I invoked Crowley once. Not the nicest demon I’ve ever met, but definitely not all that bad.”

“So you call demons?”  Dean questioned, which made Becca nod.  “For what purpose?”

“To find out how to kill them.”  She replied in all honesty and moved past him at the counter.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on my friend.” She knocked on the door and opened it slowly as she watched Beth pace along the furthest wall away from the bed. “Do you understand what he asked you to do?”

“Every single word.”  Beth replied, her emotions still hidden.  “Except one thing.” She turned and looked at Becca.  “Glass that lightning struck.” Becca watched as Beth’s lips started to tremble.  “How did he know I had that?”

“Had what?”  

Beth ducked below the bed and pulled a box from the hidden spot against the wall.  It was long, maybe twelve inches in length but only four inches wide. She unlatched it and flipped the cover open to show Becca the strange jagged piece of shining glass within the box.  Beth touched it gently and smiled.

“It’s called fulgurite.”  Beth whispered, her voice just steady enough to get the words out.  “Sea glass, when lightning strikes the sand at a certain temperature it becomes this, not really glass but a fragile stone.”  She smiled as she raised it out of the box, gently handling it with two hands. “I think I was about six when we found it, believe it or not it was on the edge of the lake not far from here.  Serena and I were playing out in the rain, Dad and John were close by, the boys were somewhere, probably learning some new trick. No one blinked when the thunder rolled by but man, you should have heard them yell when it struck.  Serena screamed, which was probably why they came running. I just wanted to touch it.

“Dean held me back, Sam had to come help him because there was just something about it that I wanted so badly.” Beth held it up for the light to shine through, showing her the strange looking crystals within the glass.  “Dad was able to get it out of the ground once it cooled and had it shaped into what you see here. He called it Zeus’ Fury.”

“They’re Gods, Beth, they work in unpredictable, annoying and sometimes downright pathetic ways, just to see what kind of role you play in the whole game of things.” Becca watched as she put the glass back in the box and snapped the latches.  With that, Beth tucked the box under her arm, and turned to Becca.

“I’ve decided I don’t want to play.”  She said sternly and walked past her. Becca followed and watched as Beth grabbed the bow and quiver, which caught the attention of the two men that were waiting by the counter.  Beth glanced back as she tightened the strap of the quiver around her waist. “I’m going hunting.”

“You can’t go out alone.” Dean stated as he stepped forward and watched the sly grin that crossed Beth’s face while she raised an eyebrow.  

“Watch me.”  She was up the ladder and out the door before he could go after her, but Sam wasn’t too far behind and raced up to get her.  As he stepped out the door, he nearly tripped over the now empty box she had held, and watched her stuff the glass shard into the leather quiver.

Beth made it to the edge of the road, just to the other side of the Impala when Sam grabbed her arm.  She turned, wanting to hit him but his lips were on hers before she could make any other gesture. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her stiffen as the kiss wore on. Even with the amount of passion he felt, he let his lips become soft and inviting.  She gave in, there was no way she couldn’t and dropped the bow from her hands, letting it swing behind her. 

Beth’s hands tangled in his hair, holding him to her as his tongue caressed her lips and his arms created someplace safe for her to break down.  Her knees gave out as he kissed her cheeks, tasting the salt from her tears and slowly he helped her to the ground, her anger pouring out in sobs.  Sam closed his eyes tightly as he felt her body press against his and she clenched his hair with one hand, his shirt with another. It was what she needed, he knew it from the moment Hermes had spoken.  She was going to have to kill her sister and there was no way around the emotion involved in that.

He wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay, but she was smarter than that, she knew that nothing about what she had to do was okay in any way, shape or form.  All he could do was hold her and as he moved her slightly to the left, he sat down on the grassy road. With his back against the Impala’s grill he pulled her into his lap, his arms still holding her tightly.  He wanted her to know he would never let her go, no matter how hard it got and he pressed his lips against her forehead, her sobs becoming shallow breaths. 

Slowly, he maneuvered the bow from her back and set it down beside him on the ground.  He wasn’t going to push her, or move her in anyway. This was her time to grieve, something he wasn’t sure she really ever got to do in the past so he wasn’t going to take it away from her now.

 

Dean sat on the barstool, beer in hand and watched as Becca picked up the things she had scattered across the counter.  His eyes were full of distrust, considering the witch in the room with him, but it seemed to stem more from the fact that he didn’t remember ever meeting her and she was supposedly such a big part of Beth’s life.

“You know,” Becca started as she set the last bag on the ground and turned to face him, “I love how the three of you have the same mentality.”

“Come again?”  He replied and set the beer down on the counter.  Becca walked over, leaned against it and grinned at him.

“She’s yours, she’s his, you both belong to her and if anyone should come between that you get so suspicious, and God help them should they threaten one of you.”  He couldn’t believe she found that statement funny, but Dean had never looked at it that way before. Sam was his brother, he was born to protect him but Beth was his, and at the same time she was Sam’s. Her saying that they both belonged to Beth is what got him.  “She would never give you up Dean, you need to stop worrying about it. As long as the three of you are together, you will always be hers, just like Sam. It’s how it’s always been.”

“So how come I don’t remember you?”  

“When you were younger, what would you have done if you had come across someone like me?” 

“You wouldn’t be here today to be asking that question.”

“Exactly,” Becca waited for him to make some sort of acknowledgement.  “Your brother, on the other hand wasn’t as hard headed and when Beth came to me with him, he was more open to the fact that there are those of us out there that really don’t mean you any harm.”

“So tell me something,” Dean shifted on the stool, “this thing we have to do tonight, will it hurt either one of them?”

“Of course it’s going to hurt, Dean.”  She shook her head. “To you, this is a typical night of playing hunter, for Beth it’s a life changing decision, she has to trap her own sister and possibly kill her.  What if it were you and Sam in the same place, could you do it?” She watched him for a moment and knew what he would answer, but she stopped him. “Don’t say yes because you’ve already proven that Sam comes first.”

Dean sat for a moment as she moved around the room, this time towards the back where she opened a large panel and for just a second disappeared.  He was curious what she was doing and soon followed, only to find out that the panel was the opening to a root cellar. Rows of glass jars filled one side of the wall and on the other were barrels of salt and other dried herbs.

“What is this place?”  He picked up one of the jars and decided instantly that it was a bad idea.  Becca smiled as he put it down gently.

“A supernatural storage room.”  She replied, grabbing brown paper bags full of something that smelled old.  “When she needed to resupply, this was where Beth kept it, plus with all the stuff going on around town, she needed to know that what she did have on hand was safe.  This is part of her toy collection.”

“Is that…?” he pointed at a mason jar of thick liquid.

“Dead man’s blood, yep.”  She replied as she pushed him out and closed the panel behind her.  “This bag is basil,” she set it down on the counter, “this one is thyme and I think we could guess where the Earth comes in.”  Becca sighed, looking at all the items on the table before she put her hands on her hips. “There’s one thing we don’t have.” Dean looked at her with the question on his face.  “A turning stone.”

“What the hell is a turning stone?”

“It’s an aura quartz.”  Beth spoke up and watched as the two of them turned towards her and Sam as his feet hit the ground.  “A tumbled blue quartz that resembles a constantly moving object when the light hits it.”

“And you know this how?”  Dean questioned. Beth pointed up at the wall above the weapons she displayed that belonged to her father. “Oh.” He looked at the redness in her eyes and moved closer, placing the palm of his hand against her face.  Dean glanced up at Sam then back at her. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Not really, but it’s life.”  She replied leaning into the warmth of his hand.  With a sigh, he kissed her on the cheek and let her walk by.  Sam shook his head at Dean and followed, sitting down on the couch.  “The turning stone was yet another find out in the woods, in the stream actually.  We stumbled on it by accident, meaning I accidently broke my foot stepping on it when we were crossing the water.  I never thought anything of it, but Dad wouldn’t let it go. He used to have it on display in the middle of the living room window.”

“Hey, wait, I do remember that.”  Dean spoke up. “Sam tried to use it as a bowling ball when he was nine.”  

“What?”  Sam spoke up and watched Dean grin.  

“Paul was pissed.”  He laughed, and then it faded when Beth looked up smiling.  “What?”

“Okay, if you’re going to tell it, make sure you include every part.  Like when you convinced him that it would be alright to just take it out and roll it across the floor.”  Beth added which got Sam to smile. “And, how when Sammy came clean, you told him the dog knocked it down first.”

“Snitch.”  Dean grumbled.  He was surprised when he didn’t hear a response from her but turned to find that the grin had widened on her face as she pulled the edge of her shirt down, exposing the stitches which just made Dean laugh.

“So we have everything, what do we need now?”  Sam laughed as he watched the two of them make faces at each other.  Becca shook her head and pointed at them.

“Are they like this all the time?”  She questioned.

“Yeah, pretty much.”  He shrugged and watched her shake her head.  

“Well, we need to go topside and set up a perimeter.  Fire in the middle, the turning stone as close to it as possible, and then a circle of the basil and thyme, just small enough to catch fire.”  

With that, each one grabbed an item and headed up to the field above them where the boys went back to collecting wood for the fire and Becca lit up a sage smudge as she walked in a complete circle several times while Beth sprinkled the herbs behind her.

Dean watched Beth as she skipped behind Becca, tossing the herbs in a line but as if she were some sort of little sprite on a bright summer morning.  Sam snapped his fingers, trying to get his attention.

“Have you ever noticed the way she shifts?”  Dean asked, glancing at Sam, who just gave him such a look.  “Yeah, you do. She’s serious as all hell and then bang, look at her, she’s dancing around.”

“Did you always watch her like this?”  Sam inquired, it was a serious question that brought Dean around and the smile faded.

“I had to.”  He answered, looking at his brother. 

“Why?  I mean, if we were as close as we were supposed to be, then why be so protective?” Dean licked his lips and glanced over at the girl once more.

“She took my heart.”  He shrugged and watched as Sam stood tall.  “Not in the way that she had yours or vice versa but, I don’t know, she grew on me.”  Dean sighed and put the sticks down. “Look, no matter how I say this, it’s going to come out wrong, so here’s the deal.  I love her, I need her and that’s all I can say about it. I don’t want her, not like you do.”

“Dean,” Sam smiled as his brother tripped over his words.  “Relax, man, it’s okay.”

“Then stop asking me stupid questions and get to work.” He growled, but was more than relieved that he didn’t have to explain anything else.

Sam watched as his brother went back to work but he noticed the way Dean turned his head to make sure that Beth was safe and it made him smile.

 

The blackness moved in almost as fast as the electrical storm with dark billowing clouds that covered the sky.  Beth stood on the porch looking up at the bolts of cloud-to-cloud lightning and shook her head as Dean came to stand beside her.

“It’s going to rain.”  She sneered and as her leg bounced.  Dean turned her towards him and smiled down into her eyes.

“It’s not going to rain, Kid, think positive.”

“Fine, I’m positive that it’s going to rain!”  She shrugged his hands off and turned back to the night.  “I don’t know, Dean. How do I even know I can do this?”

“You’ll make the right decision when the time comes, that’s all any of us can do.”  He kissed her sweetly on the cheek and listen to her sigh.

“She had you too, you know.”  Beth whispered and looked up at him.  “I don’t think you ever realized it but every time she passed by, your head would whip in her direction.”

“It would not.”  He protested and watched as she grinned.  “Okay, but I was an undersexed teenager and she was well…”

“Perfect?”

“Available,” he answered, “you had Sammy, and I had…I had as much of you as I could but I had needs.”

“Hormones.”  She laughed. “You had Whore-moans!”

“You’re mean,”  he said, just like he had always done when they were kids, and turned back to the door, “and I don’t like you anymore.”

“Whatever.”  She laughed and felt him slap her across the backside.  She gave a quick breath and glanced at him as he wiggled his eyebrows and ducked into the cabin.  Sam stepped past him as he whistled while he walked by and came to stand by Beth. “Your brother’s a pig.”

“Um,” Sam thought for a moment, “you’re just noticing this now?”

“Well,” she said and turned to him, grasping at his shirt as she pulled him closer, “I was always a bit preoccupied with a certain younger brother.”

“He has a younger brother?”  Sam grinned as she stood up on her tiptoes and he leaned down for a kiss.  She stopped just inches away from his lips and waited.

“A very, very sexy one.”  Sam kissed her softly, the smile still on his lips as they gently touched hers.  “God, if the end of the world wasn’t about to happen, there would be so many things I would do to you right now.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sam backed her up against the support beam, trapping her as the sly grin grew.  “I think we have time.”

“Sorry to ruin your fun, but I don’t think we have time for that.”  Becca’s voice broke the spell between them and both Beth and Sam looked out at the darkness that surrounded them.  “We need to set the fire, and we need to do it fast.”

Dean and Sam grabbed the gas cans and all four headed out towards the north field.  As the boys poured the gasoline, Beth loaded up the crossbow, making sure that the quiver stayed closed, and “Zeus’ Fury” lay tucked safely inside.  Dean flicked the lighter several times.

“Wanna hurry up with that, pretty boy?”  Beth yelled as she heard the growls from the woods.

“If you keep talking, princess, I’ll throw you on the fire too!”  He retorted, finally getting a flame to spark up and the tower of wood began to smoke.  

They moved beside her and watched as Becca opened a book.  Her words were Latin and eloquently spoken, a prayer for rest and to help the spirits move on from this plane.  It was the same one she did every year at this time for Beth’s father, but this time it was more intense. Dean looked around, the gun pointed out into the darkness.

“Come on,” he whispered to himself, as he took a step back towards Beth.  Sam, on the other side of her, did the same. “Come on!”

Within the blackness came the small, pinpoints of red lights, the eyes of the black hounds, pairs of them that scattered around the field but the ones in front of them were the ones they wanted.  The Cerberus stepped through, its eyes blazing with the reflection of the fire. Beth raised the bow, and trained her sights on him. She could hear the heartbeat in her ears, feel the way that the wind whipped by and watched as it took a step closer.  

The ground shook beneath the weight of its paws as the hound of Hades crossed into the firelight.  Man was that thing ugly. Three large heads, square in shape with gaping mouths full of razor-sharp teeth, foam dripping from its jaws.  The sound of a rattlesnakes tail could be heard even from this distance as the spines on its back began to shake, and the hiss of the snakes that made up its tail only added to the evil in front of them.

“Bring it on Fluffy.”  Beth spoke right to him as the guns on either side of her fired off rounds.  The creature came towards her, leaping over the others and while Dean and Sam took on the multiple black dogs, Beth found herself tumbling with the monstrosity that had advanced at her.  She heard them yell her name, felt the scratches of its claws against her back as she used her lower arm to keep the neck of the creature away from her face, making sure the jaws never connected.

The crossbow was flung across the ground, just out of reach but she could still find the quiver that was attached to her belt.  The lid had closed and latched, keeping the arrows inside and she dug deep for the other weapon she had made from the Olive branch.  She pulled out a thick silver blade with an ivory handle, wrapped with peels of the tree itself. She hadn’t really thought the design over, but knew that no matter what, the tree had to connect with the animal above her.  

She struck hard and fast upwards, into the dog’s chest as it rolled her over once again.  Her strength was ebbing the more she fought it off but finally the blade hit home, and black blood gushed down onto her.  She could hear the growling turn to howls of pain as she sliced again, deeper this time, pushing with all of her will. The dog jumped back, letting her up off the ground and she stood, staring eye to eye with it.  There was one last thing she had to try before letting this one go down.

Three arrows in hand, she clenched them tightly in her fist as she jumped up and came crashing down on the animal, sending the arrows straight through the flesh just below the neck into the spine of the beast.  Beth looked up as she sat back on the grass. Sam stood above the beast breathing heavily as he stared down at her, anger in his eyes. He had been the one that pulled it back, that had given her the chance to kill it and with a grunt, she let her body flop back on the grass.  

The night was silent, the dogs were gone, and Sam watched as the Cerberus began to crumble.  Dean stepped closer, giving Beth the once over before moving up beside his brother. The wind picked up as the black beast began to turn to dust and they watched as it slowly disappeared into the breeze.  Sam stepped past the disintegrating mass and crouched down next to Beth.

“Wow, remind me never to get on your bad side.”   He smiled down and extended a hand to her. Beth accepted his hand and let him pull her up to a seated position, kissing her softly.  “My very own warrior woman.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere buddy.”  She laughed, watching as Dean stepped over.  “One monster down, one to go.”

“Oh, I don’t plan on going anywhere.”  Serena’s snarky attitude announced. They all turned to stare at her as she stood before the fire.  “A fire for me, to rest my soul, you’re so sweet.”

Beth got to her feet, followed by Sam and the three of them stood facing the woman before them.  Beth glanced at Becca, who continued her prayer but stepped closer to the small fire she had built beside her.  With one man on each side, Beth picked up her bow and stepped closer to the herb line.

“Why don’t you let my sister go, Artemis?”  She questioned calmly, but it got a bellowing laugh from the Goddess.

“Let her go?”  Serena smiled. “She gave into me, she’s been dead for fifteen years, Beth, there is no letting go. This body, I own it.”  Beth stopped moving for a moment. Her sister really was dead, this was just a vessel and there was no way to save her. “Now, if you would be so kind as to give me what’s mine.”

“And exactly what do you think that is?”  Her voice full of rage.

“Why, Sam and Dean, of course.”  Serena grinned. “You see, at first I was going to only take Sam as my lover, to reincarnate him as Orion but then seeing Dean gave me the most marvelous idea.  Why not bring back Apollo too and we can watch you suffer and die alone.”

“Oh, that’s precious,” Beth loaded up the crossbow, “but I don’t think so.”  She nodded at Becca, whose prayers turned, and became a binding spell as she set the circle of herbs blazing.  Serena screamed as the smell from it rose into her nose. 

“Do you really think you can keep me in here?”  She laughed. “You’re missing some ingredients.” 

“I think we have everything pretty much covered.”  Beth smiled as Sam grabbed a hidden line of rope that ripped the cloth from over the top of the turning stone.  Serena growled. “What’s the matter, Sis, didn’t think I was smart enough to pull it off.”

“You know, Beth, you had everything growing up.  All your sister ever wanted was love, and Sam, oh yes, and Dean.  You see, you had them both so wrapped around your little fingers that she just wanted to take everything from you, and she did.”  Beth knew just what the creature inside that body was doing and she stood poised to let the arrow rip at any moment. “She had Sam while you were out playing around with Dean. And even when he was playing house with you, all he wanted was Serena because she was beautiful and you…you were just a silly little tomboy.”

“All right, I’ve heard enough.”  Dean snapped. “I say let’s gank this witch and get it over with.”

“Dean.”  Beth whispered and gave him a calming glance.  

“What is she doing for you now, Dean?”  Serena questioned. “Stringing you along while she sleeps with your brother?  Making you want her still but not giving you any satisfaction. I could be that one, I could be everything your little heart desires.  All you have to do is say you’re mine.”

“That’s never gonna happen.” His tone was low and hateful.  “She is more than you will ever be. She’s mine until the day I die.”

“Hmm, we’ll see.” Serena’s eyes turned to Sam.  “Sammy Winchester, you were never really happy with her, were you?  You gave her up, just like that, gave into the magic and made all the memories disappear, and why?  Because you couldn’t stand her games anymore.”

“That’s a lie.  I gave Beth up because I loved her too much to hurt her.”  Sam admitted, his eyes filling with pain. “What I did with Serena was a mistake, I admit that now and what I did to Beth was wrong but I did it because I didn’t want her to feel the pain I felt.”

“How can you say that when you don’t even remember?”  Serena reached out a hand, turning it in his direction, and telepathically ripped down the wall that hid his memories. Sam went down in roar of pain.  He pressed his hands against his head as the memories flooded in. He knew every little detail and the agony and pain he caused Beth was enough to make him want to give in.  “Say you’re mine and I will make all the suffering of those years go away.”

“Never!”  He yelled as he struggled to his feet.  He fought through the onslaught of emotions, the way his heart filled with love and broke at the same time.  The images that flashed through him reminded him of everything he had lost and he turned to Beth. “I will never hurt you again,” she watched him swallow back the tears and then sneered at Serena.  “I’ve always been hers, even when I couldn’t remember.”

Beth knew what was coming next and she stared down the woman with conviction in her eyes.  

“You can’t have them both, Beth, you have to choose one.”  

“No, actually, I don’t.”  She replied, her voice calm and collective.  “You see the three of us are the one thing you swear you never had, not as Artemis, not as Serena.  We’re family, no matter which way that ends up, the dynamics of it work all three ways. They’re mine and I’m theirs, both of theirs.”

The grass around the trapped Goddess’ feet began to turn brown as the smoke from the line of herbs began to drift inward.  It was as if the circle was burning its way towards the fire. Serena screamed in the light of the turning stone, a scream of anger and frustration that she was losing the battle for what she wanted. The air filled with the stronger scent of  basil and Thyme, while Becca tossed more on the small fire that she waved in Serena’s direction. The Goddess stepped forward, growling as she tried to break free of the ring, but the stone began to vibrate, and the colors inside began to swirl.  She reached out a hand, telepathically bringing Beth to her knees as both Sam and Dean stood with their Colts pointed directly at the woman before the fire. Becca’s chanting grew louder as Serena fought the spell.

“I’ll break her neck, I swear!”  She yelled as she clenched her fingers together.  Beth fought for breath, one hand grasping at the invisible fingers around her neck, even as she reached back into the quiver, looking for that solid, smooth shape.  “You are mine, Sam, both of you are mine and you will choose me or I will kill your precious Beth.”

“I won’t.”  Dean said sternly as he raised the gun to eye level.

“Neither will I.”  Sam added, setting his sights on her.  “Let her go, Serena, don’t make me kill you.”

She laughed viciously and squeezed just a bit harder.  “You can’t kill me, you haven’t become a God, you’re just a pathetic mortal, and Dean, you’ve been mine since we set eyes on each other, you were just too blind to see, that’s how I controlled you.  I will take from her what she loves the most, now, one more time before I snap her little neck, mine or hers?”

“Hers.”  Sam snarled as he shot off a round without blinking and watched as the bullet entered her stomach.  Beth could feel the slow release of her fingers.

“Hers.”  Dean growled, his voice deep with determination as he too fired off a shot, this one hitting her right lung.  Beth was able to stand, she pulled back the string on the bow, locking it in place and raised it up, but Serena’s grasp still had her struggling for air.  She planted her feet and stared down the blond woman in front of her.

“You can’t have either of them,” Beth yelled over the roar of the fire, the tip of the glass began to glow red with the reflection of the bonfire behind Serena.  “They’re both  _ mine _ !”

With that, she fired off the glass shard she had taken from the quiver and watched it sail through the air.  It struck home, deep into Serena’s heart and as it seemed to burrow deeper, a bright white light began to emanate from the hole, surrounding her.  Beth ducked and covered her eyes as she heard her sister’s last scream, when the light exploded around them and the wind put out the bonfire.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked up from where she crouched on the grass.  She swallowed hard, the emotions stuck in her throat and suddenly sat down on the ground.  She could hear all of them crying out her name but she saw nothing but the spot where her sister had stood only moments before.

Dean’s arms wrapped around her waist as he brought her to her feet, and then Sam’s held her tightly against him.  Neither would release her but there wasn’t a struggle for affection, they didn’t need her attention, she knew now she was theirs, both of theirs and they belonged to her. She dropped the crossbow and did the best she could to put her arms around them both, managing to snuggle up between their heads as she stared, mouth agape, at Becca who was walking over.

Her next moments were a blur of frenzied emotions as they moved from the field to the bunker.  She didn’t remember much except the feelings that flowed between them.

 

Beth stood beneath the spray of the water, the door to the bathroom was cracked open, since both men were pretty insistent that she not be alone, but there was no way they were coming in with her.  Even behind the curtain, she leaned with one hand against the wall and bent her head down, letting the water run over her. The black blood from the Cerberus flowed from her body and she could feel the evil lifting.  The look in Serena’s eyes was etched into her mind and she tried to remember that her sister had passed away fifteen years ago, when her body was taken. It didn’t stop the pain and she felt the tears even hotter than the shower.

The light knock on the door had her look up, but she saw nothing but wall.  “Come in.”

She heard Becca’s breathing as the other woman sat down on the seat beside the shower.  “They’re getting antsy out there.”

“They’re always antsy.”  Beth laughed. “Hell, you should have seen them after the Nymph attack, I was lucky if I could pee in peace.”

“They love you, it’s just in their nature.”  

“She was right, you know.”  Beth turned, the black liquid disappearing down the drain and she slid naked to the shower floor.  “I can’t have them both, it’s not fair.”

“Bullshit!”  Becca snapped and pulled the curtain aside to look at her friend, who sat with her knees against her chest.  “I have never seen three people more made for each other.”

“You can’t have three people in a relationship.”  Beth rolled her eyes. “How is that even possible?  Dean and I, we’re just not…and then Sam and I are…wow, but really you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”  Beth looked up at her. “Can you?”

“Did you hear them out there?  You belong to them, both of them, and they belong to you.  You’re a trio of misguided miscreants and you’re just going to have to deal with it.”  Becca gave her a silly grin and Beth smiled.

“I couldn’t live without either of them.”  She sighed. “Do you know how old I am?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. What does that have to do with anything?”  

“So how is it possible for me to find not one but two soulmates and this late in the game?”  The blue-eyed woman stared up at the ceiling and sighed.

“So, we’re talking soulmates now?”

“No,” Beth said, shaking her head, “but God did I miss them.”

“Sam knows everything now.”  Becca shrugged and watched Beth put her head back against the wall.  

“Who do think he’s going to shoot first?”

“Neither of you.”

“You have some awfully good insight into a man you only recently met…again.”  Beth reached for the towel that Becca handed her as the other woman shut off the shower.  “So, it’s time to face the music, what are we playing?”

“Disturbed, because you and those boys truly are.”  Becca winked as she closed the door so Beth could get dressed in peace.  

 

Becca sat down on the small chair across from Dean as Sam lay on the couch.  Beth slowly made her way out of the bathroom, dressed in a tank top and pajama pants, and stretched out the best she could along the length of Sam’s body.  She looked up at Becca and smiled, trying to keep her eyes open. The dark-eyed woman laughed as she stood from the chair and grabbed her bags.

“I’m going to leave you to your hotties so you can get some sleep.”  

Beth smiled, trying to get up but Sam put his arm around her, pulling her closer.  

Dean took a swig of his beer and put it down on the end table beside him. “I’ll walk you out.”

“Don’t hurt her,” Beth mumbled, “or I will let her go all white witch on your ass.”

Dean snickered and made a face at her as he grabbed both of Becca’s bags and followed the woman out the door and to the car. With the baggage in the backseat, she turned to Dean.

“You know, you’re not too bad for a witch.”  Dean smiled, stuffing his hands into his pockets as Becca leaned back on the car.

“You’re not so bad yourself, for a Winchester.”  She winked and watched as his smile grew. “Keep watch over our girl.”

“Every second.”

“Really, I’m pretty sure there will be a few seconds where you’re going to want to close your eyes.”  Dean looked off into the darkness and shook his head.

“Wow, you two really are good friends.”  

“Yep, but we’ll never be as close as you.”  She turned and opened the door to the car. “Don’t leave town.”

“I don’t think we’re going anywhere anytime soon, why?”

“There’s still something off, and I can’t quite pin it down, that’s why I called Beth this morning.”  She slid into the car and rolled down the window. “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

“Always.”  He watched as she started the car, illuminating the field and drove off into the night, her tail lights disappearing around the corner.

Dean made his way back down to his chair in the bunker, where he grabbed his beer and sat back.  His eyes looked over his brother and the woman tucked under his arm. Tonight had told him a lot, but he didn’t know if he was quite ready for the onslaught of emotions that he was feeling.  He had never been in love, wasn’t sure if what he felt was exactly that but this one small woman wasn’t just another person in his life, she was someone he would die for.

  
  
  
  



	6. Black-eyed... peeps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Beth find themselves in the middle of their own case a few towns over, but when a local legend turns into something bigger, it doesn't hurt to have a bit of different magic on their side.

Black-eyed…peeps

SPNFanfic #6

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

Dean waited impatiently as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel of the Impala.  He should have never let her go into the store alone, women always took forever. He stopped for a moment to think about that and changed his mind.  Women took just a little less time in the store than Sammy, but then again, they probably weren’t squeezing all the fruit and vegetables.

Images of Beth holding a cantaloupe and giving it a gentle squeeze, in a bikini, was a bit too erotic for him and he shook his head, trying to erase the view from his mind.  With a deep breath, he looked out the passenger side window at the store front. Why had he let Sam convince him that it was his turn to drive her? She had the Mustang, it wasn’t as if she were walking but it had only been a few days since the bonfire and as overprotective as Dean was, Sam had become worse. 

Annoyed with just sitting and waiting, Dean decided it was time for action, even if it meant killing a few tomatoes on his way through.  Just as the doors opened in front of him, the scene became quite clear. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared into Beth’s eyes as she knelt down on the floor, her hands up behind her head and a gun pointed at her temple.

“I thought I told you to lock that door!”  Screamed the masked man behind her, the gun shaking in his hand.  

Beth watched as Dean went to slide his hand towards the gun in his belt, but she gave a just a slight shake of her head as he did so, and quickly he raised his palms.

“Hey, what’s going on here, Pal?”  Dean questioned.

“Get down on the floor!”  Another one walked up behind him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Don’t touch me.”  Dean’s voice grew deep as the hand gripped harder.

“Get the cash and let’s go!”  The one behind Beth yelled while a shorter man, who seemed quite nervous, made his way to the last register by the door.

Dean’s eyes connected once again with Beth’s as she raised an eyebrow.  Three guns, two of them, seemed like a fair enough fight. She gave a slight nod of her head and then all hell broke loose.  The gunman was standing close enough to her so that when she threw all of her weight behind her head, she whipped him straight in the groin.  He doubled over in pain, and his gun flew across the polished floor. Dean clenched both hands and jabbed his right elbow with precision against the kneecap of the man holding him.  He went down slow enough for Dean to turn and upper cut the his jaw, sending him flying backwards into the vending machine, which sounded off some strange and creepy music. 

Beth grabbed the one doubled over by two fistfuls of hair and brought her knee up, connecting it with his nose, and she watched as he fell forward onto the floor, blood running over the ugly green tiles.  The third man at the register, jumpy as all hell, aimed the gun back and forth at both of them. Dean had pulled the Colt out and taken point, but Beth raised her hands and stepped forward.

“You don’t want to do this kid.”  She spoke softly to him. “Murder is more jail time than most people your age can handle.”

“Beth!”  Dean scolded and watched as she flashed a look in his direction.  

“Come on, kid, put the gun down.”  She was close enough to grab him, but the barrel was trained on her chest.  Dean’s hands were steady as he watched but his heart thumped painfully against his chest, waiting on her next move.  

It came faster than he anticipated.  Beth was on the boy before either knew what was going on.  She wrestled the gun from him, and the other patrons screamed and gasped as a round was fired off into the air before her fist connected with his chin, barrel-rolling him over the top of the conveyor belt.  She grabbed the gun from the counter where it had landed and pointed it down at the boy, who’s mask had revealed someone no older than sixteen.

Breathless, she glanced back at Dean, who watched her, awestruck, and she wiped the blood that trickled from her lip.

 

The hustle of the cruisers, officers, and EMTs was an interesting thing to watch as both Dean and Beth sat in the back of the ambulance. Beth held an ice pack to her lips as Dean just stared down at her. He wasn’t even sure what to say, just scowled at her when she finally lowered the pack.

“Spit it out,” she encouraged as he took a deep breath.

“What the hell were you thinking?”  He snapped, which made Beth smile.

“He was no bigger than me, I knew I could take him.” She shrugged.

“The kid had a gun and a nasty shake, Beth, he could have shot you.”

“But he didn’t,” she replied turning her head to look at him.  “You two always go for the “could have”, and you never stop to think about the other side of it.”  She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. “And what took you so damn long anyway?”

“Me?”  He laughed.  “I was waiting for you!”

“Really, have I ever taken that long in store?” He knew what she was doing, releasing the tension and he smiled as he looked over the growing crowd.  “So what’s our story?”

“FBI transport?”  He shrugged. “Explains the gun.”

“FBI it is, because we’re getting company.”  Just as she stated that, a man in uniform approached them.

“They’re calling the two of you heroes.”  Beth squinted at his badge and smiled. “Officer Jeff Morgan.”

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out the FBI identification.  “Special Agent Dean Simmons.”

“Special Agent, huh?”  Morgan questioned, taking the badge from him.  “And you?”

“Just Elizabeth Peterson.”  She shrugged handing him the driver’s license.  

“All right, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to have you come down to the station to give your statements.”  Both nodded in agreement and the officer followed them to the Impala. “Nice car. I’m surprised the agency lets you drive your own.”

“I’m doing a witness transport.  It’s less conspicuous this way.” Dean smiled politely as Beth rolled her eyes and ducked into the seat.  Morgan nodded and stepped back to his car while Dean slid behind the wheel, glancing over at her. “What?”

“Less conspicuous?”  She laughed. “Please, explain to me how a twenty-foot boat with an engine like this is less conspicuous?”

Dean rubbed the dashboard. “It’s okay Baby, she didn’t mean to call you a boat.”

“Oh, God.”  With that Dean started the engine, giving it a good press on the gas pedal before pulling out to follow the cruiser.  “So witness transport? Exactly what am I a witness to?” 

“Text Sam, let him know he’s getting a call.  Whatever he says is what we’ll go with, he’s going to have to fudge some records.”  Dean watched as her thumbs typed out the message and hit send just as he finished. “Damn girl, you have some magic fingers.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know just how magical?”  She teased and watched as he took a deep breath before staring out the window.  “It was a joke, Dean.”

“I know, it still gets to me sometimes,” he admitted and glanced over at her, “but please don’t stop teasing.”

“Hey, I’m not groping you.”  She smiled, and he watched as her face turned a light shade of red.  “Don’t you think this is all just a little weird?”

“What, the you, me, and Sam thing?”  He watched her nod. “It’s unusual, I’ll give you that, but Beth, I’m not leaving and I meant what I said, you’ll be mine until I die.”

“That’s just it, there has gotta be somebody out there for you, Dean.  Don’t you want to love someone?”

“I already do.”  He watched as the police station approached.  

“I’m talking about sex, Dean.”

“You can talk about sex all you want.  I can get that anywhere, you don’t need love for that.”

“Jesus, you are the most stubborn, pig-headed man I have ever met.”  She crossed her arms and sat back in the seat. Just then the cell phone vibrated on her lap and she read over the message.  “Sam says go with 24A, what the hell is 24A?” Dean just smiled. “Seriously, what the hell?”

Dean watched her as she shifted uneasily in the seat.  She was getting antsy and really wanted to know just what was going on.  He finally drew in a deep breath and glanced her way.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed.  “24A is a witness transport for an escort who is testifying against a Mob boss.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”  She growled and slapped him across the arm.  “I am not playing a hooker!” She quickly typed back to Sam to pick another scenario.  “What’s a 36C?” For a moment she stopped, and rolled her eyes. “That’s my bra size, isn’t it?”  She watched as Dean tried so hard to keep his composure behind the wheel of the car as his face turned red with laugher.  “Son of a bitch, I swear when this is done, I’m going to kill you both, twice!”

Dean caught his breath and finally relaxed.  “Tell him we’re going with 4D.”

“I’m not telling him anything unless you tell me first.”  

“Top level military witness protection program.  The guy can’t ask any questions about it, he’ll need more clearance than a Mack truck under a short bridge.”  Dean smiled and glanced over at the distrust in her face. “I swear, Beth, on my life, just ask him.” 

She sent the text and seemed satisfied with the answer, but he laughed as she shook her leg nervously and looked out the window. 

“How is it that you’re both still alive with all this BS that you come up with?”  She questioned.

“So, you’re not really a 36C?”  He smiled and felt the sting of her fingers as they whipped across his arm.  “Oww!” Dean turned into the lot at the station and parked the Impala beside the officer’s car.  He winked at Beth as the two of them got out and followed the man in uniform into the building, up to a small office.  “You’re going to take our statement together?”

“How do you usually do things, Agent Simmons?”  Morgan questioned. 

“Separately, to make sure the stories match and we had all our ducks in a row,” Dean replied, with complete seriousness in his voice.  “You didn’t bring us here for a statement, did you?”

“We have eyewitness accounts and store surveillance footage.  I brought you here for something else.” Morgan closed the door behind him and unbuttoned his shirt.  Dean was taken aback a bit and Beth smiled as he watched the sharp looking man pull the collar down to just above his heart.  Dean sat forward, staring at the anti-possession tattoo. “I know who you are Mr. Winchester.”

“Why didn’t you say so at the store?”  Beth questioned.

“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t so sure about you.”  He buttoned back up and sat down behind the desk. “We had heard rumors that the Winchesters had partnered up with a woman, someone who was supposed to be dead.  I didn’t think that they were telling the truth. Both your families were part of some elite hunters back in the day, but we believed that all the Petersons had passed away fifteen years ago.”

“You’re a hunter?”  Dean questioned and watched him shake his head.  “So why the tattoo and the mystery?”

“My wife was possessed by demons not many years ago, she never fully recovered, but what she came out of it with, was the knowledge that there were more things than what we believed to be real.”  Morgan grabbed a file out of a locked drawer. “I recognized you, Dean, from different drawings that she had done after the exorcism.” He pulled one out and placed the pencil sketch on the table.  “This is one of them.”

“That looks nothing like him.”  Beth laughed as Dean looked over the exact replica of himself.  Morgan nodded and took the paper. “So what can we do for you, Officer Morgan?”

“We’ve had some strange occurrences lately and I’d like you to take a look into them, if you have time.”  Dean looked over at Beth, who shrugged. He sat forward and took the second envelope that Morgan had offered.  As Dean flipped through the gruesome photographs, Beth looked over his shoulders.

“So, what’s going on?”  She questioned.

“Please tell me you didn’t blame it on a bear.”   Dean moaned as he looked at some of the mutilations. 

“Eyewitnesses have children at the scene of the deaths,” Morgan stated, as he cleared his throat. Dean’s eyes snapped up in his direction.

“Children?”

“Let me guess, black, beady-eyed ones who are insistent on coming in and get violent when you deny them?” Beth took the photographs from him and sat down on the chair.

“How did you know?” Morgan leaned back and waited.

“An old urban legend of the Black-Eyed Kids,” Beth replied nonchalantly.

“Black-eyed what?”

She looked up over the folder at the two men in the room, watching the interest in their faces as she sighed and put the paperwork down before continuing.  “Back in 98’ there was a journalist who reported being approached by two children, in the middle of the night, while he sat in his car. They wanted to come in and get warm but he wouldn’t let them, he said fear kept him from opening the door.  He stated that when they looked up at him from under wet hair, their eyes were completely black.”

“So they were demons?”  Dean questioned.

“No, they were something else.”  Beth sat forward in the chair. “The story goes that when he refused, they became more pushy about it and when he finally screamed, started the car and hauled ass, they disappeared.  What he kept out of the papers was that the next morning, his driver’s side door was scratched to hell, like an animal had attacked it. There hasn’t been a definite conclusion on it but the most popular is vampire children, or spirits of some sort, but their patterns and actions are not what I would classify as demons.  Since then, there have been thousands of sightings of these BEKs all over the world, but most of them originate in this part of the state.”

“You think kids did that to those people?”  

“We could read over the witness statements and figure it out.  It’s the only thing I can come up with.” Beth stood up, pacing the back of the room.

 

Walker Brother’s Garage.

 

Becca pulled up to the side of the garage and stepped out.  She grabbed her purse and made her way inside. It was a small convenience store and had just what she needed without having to go to one of the bigger chains.  She smiled at Cliff, who gave her a grin and nodded as she made her way to the dairy case in the back of the store. She noticed Melvin step into the room and immediately the feeling in the building changed.  Something between fear and knowing filled her and she looked up into the mirror above her head. 

Melvin leaned on the counter, looking up at her, and she could see his eyes under the unruly hair that covered most of his face. She couldn’t help but shiver at the way they shifted back and forth but he seemed to see everything with clear vision.  It was then that she noticed the way they looked. There was no life in them, they never adjusted to the light, and he never blinked. 

Becca caught her breath, grabbed the creamer from the top shelf and made her way to the front.  Melvin ducked out before she made it to the register and she smiled up at Cliff, who was usually very pleasant.

“Morning Ms. Becca.”  Cliff grinned. She looked up at him as she grabbed the wallet from her bag and smiled again, but it faded slightly as she noticed he too had the same kind of eyes, or at least one of them.  There was no movement of the iris adjusting to the brightness in the room or the shift of darkness from the brim of his hat.

“Hey Cliff,”  she replied, keeping her voice as steady as possible.  “How are things this morning?”

“A little slow,” he answered, his usual reply.  “That’s $4.06, did you need anything else?”

“No, thank you,” she answered and grabbed the creamer.  “Have a great day, Cliff, and I’ll see you soon for an oil change.”

“You too, Ms. Becca.”  

She ducked out of the shop, the fear following her as she climbed into her car, but as she pulled away, it finally started to fade. There was only one place she could think of heading, straight to the Peterson property.

There was only one car on the grass when she arrived, Beth’s Mustang, but she decided to chance it and entered the shack, making her way down to the bunker. 

“Hello?” She questioned, and Sam stepped out of one of the rooms .  

“Becca?  Is everything ok?”  He asked.

“Is Beth here?”

“No, she’s with Dean, shopping.”  Becca sat down on the couch and caught her breath.  “What’s going on Becca?”

“There is definitely something wrong with the Walker brothers.”  Sam handed her a bottle of water, which she downed half of before she continued.  “I thought I felt it the other day but today I was just filled with fear...and their eyes.”

“Their eyes?”  Sam sat down across from her, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.  “What’s wrong with their eyes?”

“I think they’re glass.”

“And you find that weird.”

“Only when one man has both glass eyes but can see completely fine.”  She pointed out. Sam sat back for a moment. “The older brother has one glass eye as well.”

“Three brothers, two with glass eyes, what about the third one?”  Becca thought for a moment and shrugged.

“I’ve never really noticed anything strange about Darrell.”  She watched as he stood and went over to Beth’s pile of books that were stacked on the counter.  Becca could see why Beth was infatuated with him, watching him move was definitely a sight to behold. Even with his height, his flow was elegant and smooth.  “What are you looking for?”

“Everything we’ve dealt with lately has been with the Olympians, who’s to say that these three aren’t connected? If I remember right, there’s some mythology about three people, but I think they were sisters.”  Sam grabbed the book and sat down on the couch across from her again. He flipped through the pages quickly and stopped. “Here it is, the Moirai or Fates were three sister deities, incarnations of destiny and life, but with all that’s going on who’s to say that they wouldn’t come back as three brothers in this lifetime?”

“You have a point,” Becca agreed as he handed her the book.  “Klotho, the one who spins the thread of life; Lakhesis, who draws the strings and determines how long one lives, by measuring the thread of life; and Atropos, the inevitable, she who chooses how someone dies by cutting the thread of life with shears. Anything is possible.”  She glanced over the pictures that were on several pages before placing it down beside her. “Should we investigate further into it?”

“Dean and Beth should be back soon, if you want to wait.”  Sam’s cell phone vibrated on the coffee table just as he finished and with a concerned look, he picked up the device, swiping the screen to accept the call.

 

Dean listened to it connect and looked over the roof of the Impala as Beth raised an eyebrow.  “Sam?”

_ “Dean, what’s going on?  Is something wrong?” _ Sam asked, full of curiousness.

“You could say we’ve had an interesting morning.”  He answered as he unlocked the door and the two of them slipped in.  “Beth and I caught a case, do you want to come up and meet us?” Beth pulled out the keys without looking up and dangled them on her finger.  “Ah, maybe I should ask, do you mind sitting this one out. Beth has the Mustang keys.”

_ “It’s okay, I think Becca and I stumbled onto something ourselves.”   _ Dean gave Beth a questioning look, only because he really couldn’t send it to his brother, and noticed that she wasn’t even looking at him.

“Just be safe, and don’t try anything stupid,” Dean snapped, which got Beth’s attention, and he gave her a slight shrug.  “We’ll check in on you later.”

_ “Will do, be safe.”  _  Sam confirmed and the line went dead.

“What’s going on?”  

“Apparently, we’re on our own.  Becca and Sam are looking into something back in town.”  Beth turned back to the paperwork. “Oh, come on Bea, you can’t be jealous of your own friend.”

“I’m not jealous,” she stated and shook her head, “I’m concerned, that’s all.”

“About what, that Sammy will get some while you’re away?”  Dean laughed but looked over to see her staring at him angrily.

“I’m glad you find this so amusing.”  The smile didn’t disappear completely from his face as she watched him.  “I trust them both. I guess I’m just not used to the feelings anymore, you know, “belonging” to someone, or whatever.”

“Hey, you belong to me too, no feelings over me?”  He listened to her let out a hiss and watched as she rubbed her forehead.  “Okay, I’ll stop poking.”

“It’s not that, Dean.”  Beth put her head back on the seat and looked over at him as he drove to the closest motel, a place where Morgan had already set them up with a room, computers and supplies to help hunt the things down.  “I have feelings, I just don’t know what to do with them.”

“You and me both,” he replied as he put the car in park and she ran into the office get the room key.  When she got back to the Impala, she found him leaning into the trunk, jeans tight across his backside and she couldn’t help but admire, until he stood and caught her.  “Hey, we talked about this piece of meat thing, didn’t we?”

“Sorry,” she shrugged and grabbed a bag, “sometimes I forget that you don’t like to be ogled.”

Dean watched her head to the room and thought for a moment.  “I like to be ogled,” he replied and followed her in, “just not by someone who happens to be sleeping with my brother.”

“Whatever,” Beth answered and set the bag down.  

On the small counter sat three laptops, some books and all of the incident reports that Morgan could get his hands on.  Dean sat down on the bed, unpacked the bags, and watched as Beth moved around the room. She went about clearing things out of the way so she could use the walls to place several papers in a particular order.  He continued watching as she scratched at her chest several times before grabbing the med kit out of the closest bag. Dean wasn’t going to follow her, but she had left the bathroom door open.

He stood in the doorway and observed the way she pulled her tank strap down over her shoulder and picked up a pair of scissors.  She snipped at a stitch before grabbing it with some tweezers and pulled. The pain in her face was evident so he quickly stepped in to help.

“Give me those before you hurt yourself,” he sighed, taking them both from her.  “Hop up on the back of the toilet.”

“Why?”  She questioned, as she did what she was told and watched as Dean sat down on the toilet seat facing her.  She was a little uncomfortable that his sight was level with her chest but when those green eyes looked up at her, she let herself trust in his abilities.

Dean was gentle, grabbing and pulling softly at the stitches, but some were still stuck. As Beth placed her head back against the wall, she also grasped his shoulder tightly.  Dean licked his lips, breathing as evenly as he could while working on the remaining strings. To be that close to her, sitting between her legs like that was almost more than he could take, but he had to help her out.  

The last one slipped through her skin with very little pain and he reached over, grabbing the damp cloth she had left on the sink.  Beth hadn’t opened her eyes yet when he stood the best he could and dabbed the cloth along the wounds. It wasn’t until she felt the cold water begin to drip down her shirt that she found herself staring up at him.  Dean’s hand stopped moving as he locked his gaze onto her eyes and bit his lip, his breathing growing heavy.

“I wish I knew the rules to this,” he whispered, placing his hand on the wall so that he wouldn’t lean in closer.  “Yours, mine, and his, right?”

“Dean,” she sighed and put her hands on his chest, feeling his ribs and muscles under her fingers.  “Don’t.”

“I know.”  He nodded, swallowed hard and then shook his head, before turning to leave the room. He threw a quick glance at her sitting on the toilet cover before closing the door.  

Beth caught her breath, and her heart raced and she slid down to the seat where he had sat.  She wished she knew the rules too, but there was one that suck out in her head. 

“Only with him!”  She repeated and closed her eyes, her forehead leaning on her fists.  “Only with Sam.”

Dean leaned against the wall just outside the bathroom, shutting his eyes tightly as he brought his fists to his lips.  He really needed to find a way to release some of the pent-up aggression that he held inside, instead of taking it out on Beth, especially since the way he wanted to let it out would lead to them sleeping together.  

With a shaking breath he stepped away from the wall and scribbled a short message on one of the notepads that sat on the counter.  He would be right back. He grabbed his coat and stepped out the door, closing it behind him.

Beth got dressed and walked out into the empty room.  She noticed the scribble on the counter and sighed. It was good that Dean had walked out, she was so confused about what had just happened that she needed some uninterrupted quiet time but just as she picked up the papers to sort them, the cellphone on the table rang.

Sam’s name flashed across the screen, she picked it up and slowly walked over to the bed, sliding her finger right, to accept the call.

 

_ “Hello,” _ her voice seemed to crack as she answered and Sam closed his eyes.

“I can feel you, Beth.”  Sam whispered, lying back on the bed.  Becca was outside in the kitchen looking up anything she could find but Sam just needed to hear Beth’s voice.  The sniffle that came with the silence was all he needed to know that the feelings that rushed over him were truly hers.  “It’s okay.”

_ “It’s not okay, Sam,” _ Beth replied softly.   _ “He’s your brother.” _

“And you didn’t do anything.” 

_ “How does that make it any better, the thought was there, the feelings, how do I control that when you’re not here?”   _

“I trust you, and I trust him.”  Sam could feel her emotions more as he pictured her in his mind.  Suddenly, he was standing in a hotel room, watching her as she sat on the bed, with her hand covering her eyes.  “Beth, I can see you.”

He watched as she looked up at him and slowly stood, the phone still to her ear.  

“I can see you.” Her voice wasn’t coming through the phone any more, she was speaking right to him.  “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. He lowered the phone from his ear as she moved and was suddenly in his arms.  Sam felt like he couldn’t hold her close enough, as he pressed her cheek against his chest, kissing the top of her head.  “It’s got to be the connection. Hera said you were more powerful than you thought.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and Sam tilted her head back so she could look up at him.  He smiled down at her and kissed her softly on the lips. 

“Like I said, you didn’t do anything.”  Beth reached up, running her hand through his hair.  

“You feel so real.” Beth grinned, as she ran a thumb over his lips.  “This is so trippy.”

Sam looked up as he heard a faint voice in his head.  “Becca’s calling from the kitchen.” He kissed her on the forehead and then solidly on the lips, not wanting to stop.  “I have to go.”

“We are definitely trying this later.”  Beth smiled and suddenly Sam found himself lying on the bed again.   _ “Sam? Did you make it back okay?” _

“Yeah, I’m in the bunker.”  He smiled, sitting up. “I’ll call you back.  Go find Dean, he’s probably just as freaked out as you, but you need to stay together.”

_ “Are you sure?”   _ The doubt was present in her voice.

“Positive,” Sam answered and listened to the phone disconnect.  He stood and walked out to the kitchen, where Becca turned and smiled at him with such a grin that Sam’s face flushed.  “What?”

“How the hell did you two do that?”  She questioned.

“Do what?”  But the look on her face told Sam that she wasn’t going with his innocent act.  Sam just shrugged. “I pictured her in my head and then I was there.”

“That was some power.”  Becca laughed and shook her head.  “It gave me the shivers. I wonder what Dean felt?”

“What do you mean?”  Sam’s face was full of confusion.  

“If she can do that with you, it might be possible that she can do it with Dean and he would have felt your connection.  What was the last thing you told her?”

“She needed to find him.”

“Because he’s just as confused right now as the two of you are.”  She gave her insight freely and Sam sat down on the couch. “Listen, I’m not saying that he’s going to feel everything you two do, or that you’ll always feel what they do, but you have to admit this is a great advantage.  You’ll always be able to find each other.”

Sam nodded, hoping that this trip didn’t get any more outrageous, but the look on Becca’s face told him that it wasn’t over with yet.  He drew in a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. “What did you find?”

“I think your first assumption was right, these are the Moirai, but they’re in hiding.” Becca looked at some of Beth’s research and pointed out some facts.  “Over the centuries, the old Gods have had to disappear, which means they take on new identities, like our three brothers. They live as mortals until something happens and they are needed in their old forms.”  She sat down across from him. “What if the arrival of Hera the other day trigger that need to come out of hiding? What if they didn’t have a choice?”

“Maybe they can help us with what we need to find the person, who is controlling the Olympians?”  Sam suggested and watched her smile. “The Fates have always been neutral, they just define life, death and destiny, something everyone has, even Gods.”

“Exactly, so maybe a trip into town to talk to the Walker brothers might be a good idea.”  Sam agreed and glanced down at his phone. “Dean and Beth will be just fine, Sam, trust in them.”

 

Beth stood in the dimly lit motel room, with her arms crossed and an aggravated look in her eyes, staring at the case that had unfolded in front of her.  She didn’t like the way things were going, especially with the children involved, and the fact that things were about to get ten times worse. She had waited long enough, three hours was certainly enough time for Dean to drink the interaction out of his system, or at least for him to find some nice brunette to hook up with.

Beth grabbed her coat and headed for the door.  She wasn’t even sure where to start, had no idea where he would have gone, and suddenly remembered what she and Sam had done before.  She closed her eyes, thinking only of Dean’s face and she could feel him around her.

_ “Get out of my head, Beth!” _  She could hear Dean’s voice in her ears as she moved in his direction.

“I’m not in your head, you stubborn ass.” Beth answered as she tucked her hands in the pockets of her coat, keeping a consistent stride down the street.

_ “How come you’re speaking to me right now?” _

“Because you’re you, Dean, and when you need to sort through things, you decide to talk to whoever comes to mind.  Apparently, I’m the perfect choice this time.” She found the bar where his presence was the strongest and shifted past the people moving through the door.  She weaved her way to the back of the dark room and watched Dean at the counter. “Besides, shouldn’t you be concentrating on the woman beside you instead of the one at the motel?  Got get her tiger!”

Beth watched as Dean turned in his seat and smiled at the pretty brunette that sat next to him.  She took it all in as he struck up a conversation and the two of them went back and forth as Dean ordered another drink for them.  In Beth’s heart, she felt a twinge of jealousy but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

He was so slick, just a twinkle of those green eyes and a flash of his sweet smile and that girl never stood a chance against his charms.  Beth was happy to see that grin, but she was holding back the need to go up and just punch the brunette in the face. It wasn’t the girl’s fault, Beth had told him to go for it. She was the one that had gotten him mixed up in the trio business to begin with and while she couldn’t be with him sexually, he had to get it from somewhere.  She tried to remember what he said, sex isn’t love, he could get sex anywhere.

Just as Beth found herself with white knuckles gripping the table, a shadow slipped into the seat to her left and she glanced up at Morgan.  He threw a look in Dean’s direction and turned back to her, smiling.

“Just a bit of green around the edges there, Miss Peterson.”  Morgan laughed and watched as Beth sat back, trying to relax. “Is this part of the investigation?”

“Actually,” she turned to him, “a lot of the sightings have been at night when people were either drunk or coming from a party, so yes, we’re going to give the drunk scenario a test.”

“It’s hard to be so close to a partner, isn’t it?”  Morgan questioned, as a woman in a tight mini-skirt put a beer down in front of him.

“Have you ever had a partner, Mr. Morgan?” Beth folded her fingers together and watched him think for a moment.  “Not your wife, I mean a partner who you’d trust with your life every day?”

“I used to,” he nodded, taking a sip of the beer.  “It didn’t end well.”

“Well, this partnership is unique because his brother is also involved and somehow watching him in this role is unnerving.”  Beth sat back and tapped on the table before she continued. “You see that girl he’s talking too?” Morgan turned to look at her. “He walks in, sits down, and strikes up a conversation with someone he’s never met, probably never will again.  He knows nothing of her background, except what she says, and he has nothing to go on but his instincts, which at this moment are more focused on sex than the job. They’ll chat, have a few drinks, and she’ll invite him back to her place, but here’s the catch, she doesn’t have one.  She’s been on the run for almost a year because of an attempted murder charge against her. What’s the charge from? A guy she picked up at a bar tried to kill her, but she fought back. Now, she’s on the warpath, taking it out on every one of these “guys” that hit on her. He’s next, he just doesn’t know it yet.”

“And you know this how?”  Morgan turned back to Beth and she grinned.

“I don’t and that’s the point.  My partner might be walking into the worst kind of situation and all I can do is sit back and wait for it to happen.”  Morgan was silent for a moment and watched her blue eyes scan over the bar before coming to rest on his brown ones. “Your Black-Eyed Kids are more than just something people have been coming up with, Morgan.  They’re real monsters, with real big appetites and we all know how bad that can end. Let Dean and I do our jobs and kill them. It won’t put an end to the legend but it will deal with your particular problem.”

“Agreed.”  Morgan nodded and stood up, beer in hand, and tipped his hat at her before walking away.  

Beth sat back into the darkness of the corner again, her eyes trained on Dean and his flirtations with the woman. She was tall, almost as tall as him, which was good because Beth was short.  The woman’s legs were long and tan, and she made a point to show as much of them to Dean as she could by crossing them when she turned in her seat to face him. This went on for almost an hour before the woman leaned forward and whispered in his ear.  Dean’s eyes lit up. Beth knew just what was going on and she hoped he would be safe.

Once the two of them stood and walked out of the bar, Beth stood and followed.  She couldn’t help but think of Sam as she tracked the couple before her and suddenly she could smell Sam’s cologne.

_ “Beth?”  _ Sam whispered and she stopped at a driveway entrance to watch him walk out.  “What’s going on? Becca and I are in the middle of a stakeout.”

“I just wanted to see you.”

“Where’s Dean?”  Sam looked around the area for his brother.

“He’s getting his freak on.”  Beth smiled and Sam’s eyes stared her down.  “Don’t worry, it’s part of my plan.” Sam nodded and the two of them started to walk down the street.  “Do you think your body is moving like that in the car?”

“I’m going to try not to think about it.”  Sam smiled and gently touched the back of her neck with his hand.  It was just about that time that they came upon the Impala, which Dean had driven to the bar’s parking lot not two buildings down.  The windows were fogged up and Beth could see the movement of the vehicle. 

“See, he’s getting his groove on.”  Beth shrugged. 

She looked up to see a boy who stood by the fence on the other side of the parking lot.  He was the one from the store, but this time he was different. He was dressed in all black, head to toe and his hair was covered by the hood of a sweatshirt, but she could make out his face just under the shadow.

“Sam, go!” Beth ordered and glanced up at him before looking back at the boy.  “When you get back to the car, call your brother, tell him which way I went.”

“Beth!”  Sam snapped as she took off running after the boy.  

 

Sam sat up behind the wheel of the car and turned to look at Becca as he tried to catch his breath.  The woman beside him looked concerned but Sam’s only thought was to look for the cellphone, which had fallen down on the floor of the crowded Grand Am.

He was finally annoyed enough to get out of the car and lean down to pick it up before dialing Dean’s number.  

 

Dean couldn’t hear the phone vibrating against his discarded keys on the front seat of the Impala, he was legs deep in another mission and she was definitely what he needed to take his mind off of Beth.  This woman was beautiful, had kept up a great conversation with him and her touch turned him on in a way that he hadn’t felt since… Dean backed away a little, looked down at the gorgeous woman beneath him, and sighed.  She reached up, touching his cheek but Dean couldn’t shake the image of Beth lying there. 

She told him to go for it!  He had told Beth that this wasn’t what he needed from her, but he really needed to prove it to himself.  With a grin, he leaned back down towards the woman below him and kissed her roughly on the lips. 

He was going to make this one for the record books.

 

Beth rounded the corner and found herself stuck at a dead-end.  As she turned to figure a way out of the trap, she tried hard to catch her breath.  Catching movement out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the boy from the store, as he stepped towards her with an evil grin on his face and the blackest eyes she had ever seen.  She could feel the fear rising up in her chest and took a step backwards.

“You shouldn’t have come running in here all alone.” His voice was deeper than she expected, but then again, to her he was a teenager, one that looked as if he had just hit puberty.

“Well, there are a lot of things I shouldn’t have done tonight,” Beth answered and watched as two more kids stepped out of the darkness, “but, what are you going to do?  Shit happens.”

“We knew who you were the minute you walked into that store, could smell you from a mile away,” he continued as they stepped closer.  “Where’s your friend?”

“Depends,” she grinned, “how many of yours did you bring?” 

“I’ve got a couple.”  Beth watched as a total of five now stood before her and with the fear becoming overwhelming, she took her a stance, and got ready for battle.  

“Well, it looks like good odds to me,” except that Beth hadn’t counted on the one behind her. Just as she heard the rustle and turned, her head connected with the side of a bat, not enough to kill her but enough to knock her out cold.

 

Dean slipped into his jeans and watched as the cell phone buzzed against the interior base of the backseat, lighting up the screen for a new message.  When he looked down at it, his heart dropped and he pressed the message button. It was from Sam, and the only thing it said was: Beth’s in trouble!

“I’m sorry to do this hon, but you have to get out of the car!”  Dean said sweetly as he turned to look at the woman buttoning her shirt.  When she looked up, Dean found himself staring right into deep black eyes.

“Oh no, Dean, I’m sorry.”  She curled up her fingers and punched him right in the nose, sending Dean back against the car, his head banged off the door and he slid limply to the seat.  “Thanks for a great time, it’s a shame that it’s going to have to end this way.”

 

Sam could feel the pain in his head, in two separate places as Becca helped him back into the bunker.  The Walker brothers had closed up shop and headed home before anything interesting happened, at least that was until Sam nearly crashed the Grand Am into a tree as he slowly faded into unconsciousness.  

He sat on the couch, trying to focus, as Becca sat down in front of him with an aspirin and some water in hand.

“It’s Dean and Beth, I just know it.”  He sighed and took what she offered.

“But there isn’t anything you can do unless you can make some kind of connection to at least one of them, and I’m pretty sure that you’re only really connected to Beth.”  Sam sighed, running his hands over his face as the pounding in his head slowly faded. “Listen, Sam, I’m not sure what this power is between you three but just from what I’ve seen tonight, I don’t think using it often is a good idea.”

“No kidding.”  He stood up and began to pace, his hands over his lips, as Becca watched him with worry.  “Come on, Beth, wake up.”

 

Beth opened her eyes suddenly, Sam’s voice coming through like a bullhorn and the pain in the back of her head dulled.  Her arms were pulled back behind her, tied with thick rope, and her ankles were bound as she sat on the floor of an old, dusty building.  She watched, with blurry vision as Dean was carried into the room by two of the boys and dumped onto the floor. Just that movement made him moan and she looked up to see the brunette step over him, towards her.

“Wow,” she laughed, “for a North Wind, I would have expected more,” the woman hissed.  Beth’s research had been right, these weren’t the BEKs of the urban legend, these were Olympians.

“Untie me and find out, Gorgon!”  She growled back, which made the woman laugh.

“Not a Gorgon, one of THE Gorgons. My name is Euryale.”  She curtsied as if she were truly being polite.

“The Far Springer. Funny, they depicted you as so beautiful, all I see is a slut,” Beth added and watched as Dean slowly came to, but when he spotted her, she gave him a little shake of her head.  “So you’re one of the immortal ones? What’s with all the little brats?”

“My black-eyed children.”  She smiled and looked around.  “They bring me food when I’m hungry, but tonight, I wanted a treat all my own.  You see, Dustin was the one that you took out this morning, and he brought back news of the Winchesters in town.  Imagine my delight when I found the very man I was looking for.” Euryale squatted down beside Dean, who had rolled over with his eyes still closed, and gently touched his cheeks. “I usually don’t have dessert before dinner, but what this one offered was definitely something I couldn’t say no to, it’s not often you get a stallion of his stamina.”

Beth closed her eyes, rolling them behind her lids as she made a disgusted face. “TMI lady, seriously.”

“Oh come now, North Wind, I can see it all over your face, you want this one just as much as I did.”  Beth’s expression went blank as she looked up at Dustin, who came over and knelt before her. A heart crushing fear spread over her body and Beth struggled to breathe.  She twisted her wrists against the ropes in an effort to free herself. “Dustin, don’t tease your dinner.”

“I’m just so hungry, Mother.”  He stated, his black eyes shined as he opened his mouth to reveal the rows of sharp teeth and suddenly he was on Beth, biting down on her shoulder.  Beth screamed, as the flash of white hot pain ripped through her skin and down her arm, which brought Dean to full awareness and he watched as the boy suddenly backed off.  Euryale pushed Dean to the floor with just the strength in her leg, pressing the toe of the shoes she wore against him, and watched the boy wipe his lips. “She tastes strange.”

Dustin was wide-eyed as he stepped closer to his mother figure, blood dripping down his chin.  

“What did you do to him?” Euryale screamed at her, moving away so that Dean was free to move.  

“Same thing I’m going to do to you, Bitch!”  Beth yelled as she pulled her hands free of the ropes and kicked off the ones on her ankles.  “You suck at tying!”

“I’m going to kill you!”  The Gorgon screamed and Beth watched in fear as the brunette’s hair became a slithering wig of snakes.

“Jesus, Lady, you are ugly.”  

Dean moved out of the way as Beth came at the monster, avoiding contact with her eyes.  He couldn’t believe what she was doing. Her lids were tightly shut as she ducked and weaved, out-maneuvering the Gorgon’s every swing until she was right on top of Euryale.  Dean grabbed an old duffel bag and quickly covered the woman’s head with it, allowing Beth to open her eyes.

He had never seen her so angry, as she looked down on them both, before she drew the gun and pointed it at Dustin, who was once again upright and coming at her.  Dean couldn’t understand what she was doing when she took the end of the barrel and pressed it into the wound on her shoulder. She targeted the boy once more and every emotion drained from her face as she squeezed the trigger, piercing him right between the eyes.  

“That’s for biting me, you little prick!”  Her voice was deep with hatred. The walls started to crawl with black-eyed children, who inched towards her, but she didn’t fire on them, instead she stepped closer to Dean and the woman who tossed and squirmed in his arms.  Without even a hint that she cared, Beth pointed the gun dead center in the middle of the Gorgon’s head, which happened to be on Dean’s lap.  _ “When I say let go, Dean, I expect you to haul ass!” _

His face was full of shock as her voice invaded his mind and for a moment he thought he was losing it, but she glanced at him to see if he had gotten the message.  Dean nodded and prepared himself for what was to come. Beth waited for them to all be close enough to her before she cocked back the hammer on the Colt, the end of it still dripping in blood and slowly closed her eyes.

_ “Now!” _

His movement was quick, as he slipped out from underneath the monster, and ripped the bag off at the same time.  Euryale’s black eyes were wide, and the snakes on her head snapped out towards Beth’s outstretched hand but as she squeezed the trigger. Dean watched everything in slow motion, the blast from the gunpowder, the bullet as it came twirling out of the barrel, coated in Beth’s blood, and when it connected with the Gorgon’s skull. Dean felt the splatter of gore around him, as the bullet left her head.  

_ “Close your eyes!”  _ Beth whispered in his thoughts.

Just like every other time they had fought an Olympian, the light was blinding but this time, it didn’t just take the Gorgon, but all of the children in the room, leaving Dean and Beth sitting in darkness.  Dean fought to find the small LED penlight that was attached to his keychain but when he flicked it on, aiming it all around the room to make sure there weren’t any other creatures, he saw Beth kneeling on the floor, with her head hanging down and the gun lowered at her side.

He quickly rushed over and cupped her face in his hands.  She looked up at him with tired eyes, as he released her and scrambled to find anything to put on the bite.  There was nothing in the building but he knew that what he needed was right outside, in the Impala. Scooping her up, he raced to the car, set her down on the gravel of the old abandoned factory and found the first aid kit.  

With a wad of bandages in hand and some old rags, he ripped the shirt she wore away from her neck and put pressure down on the seeping wound.  With the rags, he went under her arm and up around her shoulder to tie them tightly, as she winced in pain.

“You have got to stop putting yourself in danger, woman!”  He ordered as he took her gun and slipped it in the back of his pants.  “Come on, we’ll get you some place cleaner.”

With that, he had her up and in the front seat of the Impala before she could even say a word and he screeched off down the road.  The tires squealed as he came to a quick stop in front of the door of the motel and carried her inside. Dean worked quickly as he set her on the bed, grabbed some towels and water, then made his way back.  He gently slipped off her coat, then removed the rest of the shirt she had on over her tank top.

“It’s okay,” she whispered as he debated on whether or not to replace the dressing.  Beth looked over at him, patting his cheek with her fingertips and smiled. “It’s okay.”

“That bite is far from okay, Beth,” he answered and watched as she closed her eyes and smiled.  “I’ll never understand how you can find something like this funny.” Dean untied the knot and carefully removed the gauze. With a wet towel he wiped away the blood from her shoulder and stopped.  He stood up shocked, stepped back a few paces and stared down at the knowing grin on her face. “What the hell, Beth?” She opened her eyes, this time a glowing bright blue. “Hera! What are you doing to her?”

“Healing her.” The voice that came from her was the same as the last time.  “She needs her strength. You and your brother give her that, I give her the power to heal.”

“Is she going to be alright?”  He asked softly and watched as those glowing orbs stared at him.

“Only with you and Sam.”  The light faded and Beth’s eyes closed.  

The wound was gone, even the cuts from the nymph’s tail had faded and Dean moved to sit down beside the bed.  He leaned against the small section of wall that separated the beds from the table and entry way, and watched her for what felt like hours, until the cellphone rang.

“Yeah,” he said softly as he placed it to his ear.

_ “Dean?” _  Sam questioned, even though he knew his brother’s voice.   _ “What happened?” _

“I don’t even know where to start.”

_ “How about with the car?  I called you, were you seriously too busy to pick up?”  _  Dean pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it.

“How the hell did you know about that?”

_ “Beth told me.” _  Dean sat up a little and looked at the woman on the bed.   _ “How is she?” _

“Sleeping.”  It was all he could say, there was so much he wanted to tell him, but not over the phone.  “She’s fine, Sam, she’s going to be fine.”

_ “Have her call me when she wakes up, and Dean, are you okay?” _

“It has been one messed up day, but I think I can handle it.”  He smiled and watched at the woman on the bed began to move around.  “Hey, I’ll call you back, I think our girl’s waking up.”

_ “Let me know.”  _

Dean nodded but didn’t really answer as he ended the call and leaned on the bed with his arms.  Beth picked her head up and looked around before stopping to stare at his face. 

“Exactly how did I get here?”  That was just what Dean was waiting for as he let out the breath he was holding and put his head down on the bed.  “Seriously, Dean, I don’t remember anything after Snake-head blew up.”

“You don’t need to,” he smiled, looking up as she touched his cheek. “But you are going to need a new shirt…again.”

“OH! Come on,” she huffed and went limp, back on the bed.  “I swear between you and Sam, you owe me a whole new wardrobe.”

“And I will gladly buy it for you on one condition,” he answered and watched her turn towards him.  “Never encourage me to hook-up with some strange woman again.”

“I didn’t encourage you,” but her eyes turned away from him and Dean smiled.  

“I heard you in my head, Beth, in the bar, in the building.  She said you were powerful but telepathic too?” Beth took a deep breath and turned on her side, the look on her face told him something else was up.  “What else could there be?”

“Hera, when she was healing me, she said something that made me question this. All of this.”  Beth took his hand. “I’m only going to be okay if I’m with you and Sam, not like with/with but if the three of us are together.”

“We are together.”  Dean whispered. “Yours, mine and his, remember?”

“I know,” she sighed and slowly sat up.  “I need a shirt. Do you mind?”

“Nah,” he said and grabbed one of his flannel ones out of the duffle bag beside the bed.  “It’s going to be pretty big on you.”

Beth got up and headed towards the bathroom.  “Yeah I know, but would you rather I had long legs and a head full of snakes?”

Dean took his boot and threw it at the bathroom door just as it closed.  

“You’re lucky I love you!”  He yelled, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn’t believe he had said them. This time wasn’t like the last, this time he really did mean it and it wasn’t the same kind of love, it was stronger.

He stripped down and put on a clean pair of jeans, then a shirt, tossing the blood covered one in the trash, and found Beth standing in the doorway with what looked like just the flannel on.  He smiled and shook his head as she walked over towards the bed he had laid down on. Quietly, she crawled up beside him, turned so her back was to him and felt him mold around her. His face settled against her hair as her small fingers curled up and disappeared beneath the cover of his hand.  

With a sigh, the warmth of his breath spread over her and slowly she could feel him relax.  She had placed her phone beside the bed and it was just close enough for her to reach. One handed, she hit the screen and sent a call out to Sam.

_ “Hey sweetness.”  _ Sam’s tone swept over her as she closed her eyes.   _ “Dean said you were sleeping.” _

“I was but I wanted to call to let you know I was alive.”

_ “But are you okay?”   _

“I will be.”  She opened her eyes to see him lying not more than two feet from her on the bed in the bunker, but she could still feel Dean’s arms around her. With a quick peek behind her, she smiled. “I guess he came along for the ride.”

Sam grinned, placing the phone down on the bed as she reached out to take his hand.  “Does this mean we don’t get any privacy anymore?”

“Only when he’s this close.”  She shrugged.

“Tomorrow morning, when you come home, I’m not letting you out of my sight.  You know that, don’t you?” Beth smiled and nodded. “Becca can feel this power, she doesn’t think we should use it too often.”

“I think I know why she’s afraid of it.”  Beth watched as he kissed her fingers gently and felt her eyes slowly growing heavy.  “The more we use it, the more it connects us. There will be a point where it won’t be you, me and Dean anymore.  It will be us, the three of us, if we’re not careful.”

“Then let go,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “Let me go and I’ll see you in the morning.”  

Beth nodded and let the feel of him fade.  She found herself back in the motel room, the warmth of Dean’s body pressed against her and she picked up the phone.

 

_ “Goodnight, Sam,”  _ she whispered to him.

“Goodnight, Beth,” he smiled and watched the line disconnect.  Sam sighed and placed the phone on the charger, tucked the pillow up under his head and tried to close his eyes. At least for a little while.

 

Dean stirred on the bed, and instantly knew something was missing.  He sat straight up and looked around the room. Beth was gone, but everything she had brought with her was still close by, even the gun was still tucked under the pillow.  He could hear her muffled voice through the door and slowly stood, grabbing her colt as he went. With his hand on the doorknob, he flung it open to see her standing there, completely dressed with Jeff Morgan.

She turned to Dean, handing him the tray of coffee and watched as he backed up, stepping aside so that the two could come further into the room.  Dean smiled, grabbing a cup as he headed back over to sit on the bed, while Morgan found a spot at the table to sit. Beth, who was holding the hot cup in her hand, took a few sips before setting it down and continuing with her discussion.

“So, you see, they weren’t really children at all.  The den-mother was just as easy to pick off as any other vampire out there and the ones she had under her were more of the same.”  She shrugged and glanced over at Dean who was tying his bootlaces. 

“You figured this out all in one evening?”  Morgan questioned and watched as the two of them looked at each other before nodding simultaneously.  He shook his head. “It would have taken our guys weeks, if not longer, to even track down the nest.” Beth pulled out her wallet and handed him a card.  “What’s this?”

“My number,” she answered, which made Dean give her a death stare.  “In case something like this should ever pop up again and you could use some help.  The boys and I are just a call away.” 

Morgan stood and looked over the two of them.  “You know, the two of you make a hell of a team.”

“You should see us when we have our third.” Dean grinned and watched as Beth gave a slight smile.  

“What should we do with the equipment that was here when we came in?”  She questioned.

“Just leave it, they’ll take care of it when they come to clean up the place.”  Morgan nodded his thanks once more and exited through the door. Dean stood and looked up at the research that covered the walls.  

“We need to burn it all,” she whispered and watched as he took out his lighter.

They got every scrap of paper in the wastebasket, squirted a little lighter fluid on it and stood just beyond the corner of the building to let it burn.  Dean watched as Beth looked around, taking in what little scenery there was.

“Can I ask you a question?”  Dean spoke up which made Beth raise her brows.

“You never ask me that, Dean, so don’t start, just do it.”  She shrugged.

“Your telepathy, does it work with Sam?”  She nodded at him, being open and honest. “Is that how he knew about last night?  About the car?”

“I needed to get that kid, Dean, and I wasn’t about to come knocking.”  Dean crossed his arms, his face full of a self-hatred that made him shake his head.  “You can’t really blame yourself for investing some time in activities that every normal guy does.”

“I should have been with you.”

“You should have been right where you were, working out some aggression.”  She laughed and watched as he stared at her.

“Why is this so funny to you?”

“It’s not funny, Dean, it’s insane.  You have needs, we all do, and once in awhile, you have to satisfy them.”  She held out her hands in a shrug waiting for an answer but he never replied back.  “Okay, I see how it’s going to be. Stop being such an ass, and say what you want to, because I’m a big girl, Dean, and I’m getting a little irritated.”

Dean looked down at the ground for a moment before he stared up at her with his green eyes.  “You can get into my head, Beth, you should know what I’m thinking.”

“That’s not how it works.”  She lied, she knew she could listen in at the drop of a dime but she would never do that to him.  “So, you’re just going to have to use your big boy words.”

“Stop being so damn condescending.”  He growled in a low voice.

“Me?”  She nodded. “Okay.”

“You talk about us being together, the three of us, but do you realize what that means?  I mean what it means to me?” Beth didn’t move as he spoke, stepping closer. “It means honesty, trust, love, family and most of all it means we need each other.  You need to start trusting me.”

“I trust you with my life, Winchester, what more do you want?”  She questioned, drawing in a deep breath as he leaned down close to her face.

“Your heart.”  He answered, turned and walked away.  _ “In the same way that you’ve given it to Sam.” _

She didn’t know he could project like that but his mental words were more powerful than anything he had ever spoken before and she bit her lip as she tried as hard as she could to wrap her head around it.  Didn’t he already know that he already had it?

With a quick exhale, she watched the rest of the papers burn and then quickly walked towards the Impala which was idling in wait for her.  The bags were packed, the place was clean and Beth slipped into the passenger’s seat as Dean turned it around, headed off to the nearest road back to the bunker, not saying a word.

 

Sam stepped off the porch as the Impala coasted up the grassy road, Becca smiled as Beth slid out and Sam wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, until he noticed his brother.  Dean walked to the end of the car and popped the trunk, not expecting anything as Sam walked over and hugged him tightly.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Sam whispered as he ruffled Dean’s hair, an action that got him a look of confusion and amusement from the older brother.  

“How have the two of you been?”  Dean questioned as he watched Beth and Becca disappear into the shack.  He handed Sam two duffel bags, grabbed a few himself and closed the trunk.

“I think we might have found a way to track down the one sending the Olympians.”  Sam watched as Dean rolled his eyes while they moved slowly towards the shack.

“Yeah, did you know that Gorgons have black eyes?”  Sam looked at him, tilting his head just a bit. “And legs up to here!”  Dean smiled as Sam gave a little laugh.

“She was a Gorgon?”  

“Yep, apparently one of the immortal ones, until Beth took care of that problem.”  Sam stopped at the edge of the porch and gazed at him in confusion. “Look, there is something up with her blood.  One of the bastards bit her and suddenly it was choking on it.”

“It bit her?”

“She’s healed from it, but Sam, she took the barrel of the gun and stuck it in the wound, then shot the bitch with it.  Her blood is poison to these things, and this one was supposed to be immortal.” Dean put his hands in the pockets of his coat.  “I’m worried about her. The look in her eyes when she fired off that gun, man, it was like there was nothing there, no emotions at all.  Not even when it was over.”

“Maybe her mind was somewhere else when she did it, like on you.”  Sam suggested but Dean only shook his head.

“You didn’t see her, Sam,” he sighed, “that wasn’t Beth.”

“We can talk about it more inside, let’s get you settled.”  Sam picked up the bags and watched his brother do the same before walking into the small wooden shack.

Becca hugged Dean when he reached the bottom step, and the two of them noticed Sam entering the back bedroom.  Dean made his way over to the refrigerator, where he grabbed a beer and cracked it open, swallowing half of it before he came up for air, at that point he just glanced over at Becca.

“Spill it, Winchester, I know something’s bothering you.”  Becca laughed and sat down at the table in front of him. Dean placed the bottle down and turned it in his fingers.

“I am in way over my head.”  He chuckled, nodding. “I’m in love with a girl that is in love with my brother, who I have but can’t have.  How screwed up is that?”

“Have you asked her how she felt?”  

“Yeah, the whole “yours, mine and ours” crap.  I don’t know, Becca, I tried to be with someone else last night and all I could think about was her.”

“It’s hard to imagine what Hera has gotten the three of you into  but you have to trust me when I say that it will work out. You, and both of them, just have to trust in it.”  Becca patted his arm and he looked up at the ceiling. “She called you her soulmates once. Imagine that, finding two of them in the same lifetime.”

All Dean did was nod.

 

Beth sat on top of the dresser as Sam entered the room.  Her hands gripped the edge as he stepped closer and stood between her legs. Even at that height, she still had to look up at him but as he grabbed her hips and slid her closer, looking up at him was the least of her issues.  The heat between them was just waiting for a little spark to ignite but he could see that there was something bothering her.

“Talk to me,” he whispered, his lips mere inches from hers, but he could still see her blue eyes.

She hesitated for a moment before licking her lips.  “I have to be perfectly honest with you Sam, and it might not be easy to hear.”

He didn’t break his stance, but instead reached up and touched her cheek with the palm of his hand.  “You love him, I know.”

“How can you know?”  She said softly, feeling every tingle of his breath against her face.  

“Because I can feel what you do.”  He whispered, brushing her lips softly, but even that motion sent chills down her body at the tease of his tongue.  “You need to tell him.”

“I need you.”  Beth sighed, as his hand traveled up and down her spine, tickling over the spot on the back of her neck.  “I want you.”

“And I want you, but you have to tell him.”  He moved just a bit closer to her, his hand tangling up in her hair, “promise me that you’ll tell him.”

Beth couldn’t say anything, he was too close to her, and her resolve to hold back had disappeared.  She grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, popping the few buttons that he had bothered to do and smiled as they zipped across the room.  Sam pulled her lips to his, feeling the warmth that he had been dying for all day. There was nothing like touching her, no other feeling in the world and he had her all to himself, even if it were for those waning moments.

Their passions took them from the dresser to the bed and, with careful consideration of the paper thin walls, at one point they ended up against one of the concrete ones.  Sam couldn’t get enough of having her so close to him. He could hear her heartbeat, feel the way his touch felt against her skin, like she was sharing her deepest desires with him. Finally when they came to rest on the bed once more, he lay with her beneath him, bodies drenched in sweat and he placed his lips against her neck and remembered what Dean had told him.

“Who bit you?” He whispered and listened to her take a sleepy deep breath. 

“Some nutcase kid with black eyes,” she replied, trying to stretch the best she could under him, which only seemed to get more of a rise out of him.  “Right where your lips are.”

“Here?”  He teased and nipped at the skin.  Beth rolled her eyes and quietly moaned in his ear, “or here?” This one was just as bit lower and she grabbed a handful of his hair, giving it a gentle tug to bring him back up to her lips.  “Should I stop?”

“Unless you’re going for a marathon, I would suggest it.” She smiled, her blue eyes shined under the sleepy lids as she held him in one spot.  Sam laughed and let his head rest on her chest. 

“I think we both need to catch our breaths before we have another one of those.”  He listened to her heart thump under his ear as she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed, letting him know she was finally relaxing.

 

Dean stared up at the sky, standing in the middle of the field above the bunker.  Becca had gone home, Sam and Beth were sleeping, but he couldn’t seem to get in the mood to settle in.  It was the middle of the day and he was a hunter. He should be hunting but instead he was just standing there waiting.  He wished Cas was there, but the Angel was off to try and find another way to track down the owner of the spell that was just about to ruin his life.

He couldn’t believe all that had happened.  Beth had come back into his life, after fifteen years of believing she were dead and now he was so caught up in a soap opera that he didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t know where to go next, and more that anything, it pissed him off.

“You’re not alone in that feeling, you know.”  Beth’s spoke to him, and he turned to see her standing behind him.  With a curious look, he took in everything about her and shook his head.

“You’re not Beth,” he instantly replied.

“Actually, I am, just not the full-bodied version of me.”  She raised an eyebrow at him and watched as he reached for the gun.  “Dean, don’t, just listen.”

“How do I know you’re not some Olympian out to eat me again?” This time the person in front of him started to laugh, which made Dean release his hold on the weapon.  No one laughed like Beth, he had known it all his life and there was no imitating that. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s like astral projection, I guess.  I’m not really sure how I’m doing it, but I can picture where you are and be there, in this form, as solid as you are.”  She shrugged. He glanced over her clothing and smiled.

“And apparently in pajamas?”  

Beth looked down.  “Yeah, I guess it’s whatever I’m wearing when I do it.”  She stepped closer to him and watched as Dean took a step back.  “When I wake up, will you talk to me?”

“According to you, we’re talking right now.”  He was still testing her and Beth smacked her lips together.

“Fair enough, but what I want to say, I have to do it in person, and I needed to let you know that we weren’t done discussing what we started at the motel.  I need to tell you something and I didn’t want you running off before I did.”

“Me, run off?  Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re you, Dean, I’ve said that to you before.  You get a notion in your head and you go off all half-cocked and do something completely irrational.  It’s just your way.” She watched as he closed the space between them and touched her cheek with the back of his hands.

“You’re so real,” he said softly. Beth got up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips.  Dean closed his eyes, letting the feeling linger for a moment before she suddenly disappeared. Dean didn’t want to open them but he let out a breath slowly.

_ ”When I wake up, ask me to come outside.  Ask me to tell you about Omaha,”  _ she whispered to him and he looked up at the sun.

“Omaha, perfect.”  Dean shook his head.

 

Sam was in the kitchen when Dean stepped down into the bunker, and all the older brother could smell was eggs and bacon, but the thought of food made his stomach turn.  Sam lifted a plate, instead of calling across the room and set it down on the counter, where Dean grabbed a barstool and sat down.

“Do you want some coffee?”  Sam asked with his back towards his older brother.

“What are you, Susie Homemaker?”  Dean snapped and Sam gave him a snide look.  “Sorry, the last two days have been pretty strange.”

“Stranger than our regular days?”  Dean nodded over the cup that Sam handed him.  Coffee it was, whether he wanted it or not.

“I guess that stuff last night is still bothering me,” Dean took a bite of the eggs and pushed the plate away.  “I’m not really hungry.”

This made Sam stop mid-flip and look at him.  “It really did weird you out, didn’t it?”

Dean rubbed his eyes, nodding as he heard the door open from the small bathroom and turned to see Beth walk from the shower to the bedroom. She held the same pajamas he had just seen her projection wearing, in her arms, but she was dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt.  He glanced over at Sam and made his way over to her room.

The door was open and he rapped on it twice with his knuckles.  Beth looked up, her eyes full of so many emotions and she gestured with her head for him to come in, but Dean stopped just inside the doorway, wanting to close it but found himself suddenly very nervous.

“Was that real?”  He asked, with no actual lead up to what he was talking about, but she knew that it might be the first thing out of his mouth.  

Beth smiled as she looked up at him.  “You mean Omaha?”

Dean let out a breath, but stared at her in confusion.  “You can actually do that kind of stuff, astral project?”  He shook his head in disbelief. “That was so…you felt so real.”

“I guess in that state, I am.”  She slipped on her socks and shoes, then grabbed a light jacket and squeezed past him to where Sam was, in the kitchen.  Dean followed slowly to see what she was up to, but he just watched her kiss his brother quickly, whisper something in his ear, to which he only gave a nod and glanced up at Dean.  “Save me breakfast.”

“I will.”  Sam replied, watching as she walked over and took Dean’s hand.

“Come on, we need to talk about Omaha.”

“Right.”  The two went back up the ladder and slowly began to walk the length of the field along the now well-worn path that they had all trudged into the ground.  “So, Omaha, a real thing or a code word?”

“A real thing.”  Beth laughed. “It was about six or seven years ago, I was in Nebraska, Omaha to be exact and I was staking out this nest of nasty little bloodsuckers.”  Beth picked a stem of some wild wheat and pulled it into little pieces as she walked. “One night I was making my way through town and I heard this rumble, and it was so familiar that I couldn’t help but break my stride and look over.  I’ve never seen such a beautiful sight when that Impala cruised down the road. Could you believe my shock when the driver was this slick older version of the boy that I used to beat on?”

“Wait, that Omaha, as in one of the scariest nests of vampires we ever took on?”  Dean stopped her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in town?”

“I got scared.”  She shrugged. “Vampires I could handle, the Winchester brothers in living, breathing color, not so much.”

“I’ve never known you to be a chicken shit.”  Beth smiled.

“That’s one of the nicer words to call it.”  She stopped him and took his hand. “There was a point to this story before you interrupted.  Omaha was the first time I had really gotten a look at the two of you in years and it shook me hard, because it made me realize what I know now is absolutely not just because of some Olympian’s spell or curse, or bloodline, it’s because it’s real.”

“Beth, get to the point.”  He sounded irritated.

“Back when we were teenagers, you asked me who did I love more, you or Sammy.”

“So?”

“I told you I loved you.”  She shrugged. Dean put his head down, waiting for the blow.  “The truth is now, right now, I’m in love with your brother.” Dean closed his eyes, releasing her hand and turned to walk away.  “Dean?” She pleaded with him as he took a step away from her. “Dean, I wasn’t finished yet.”

He didn’t care, it was what he needed to hear, but she was persistent.  With a grunt of frustration, Beth ran up in front of him and stopped him, as much as a woman who was only five-feet could stop a man that was a foot taller and more muscular.  Her hands grasped his upper arms and he stared at her as his chest began to rise and fall quickly.

“You didn’t let me finish.”  She swallowed, trying to figure out the way to say it.  “I meant what I said when we were kids and I mean it now, but there is something more, something so confusing and so right, but at the same time completely wrong and totally annoying.”

“I get it, you’re in love with Sam, which you should be but Beth, I really don’t need to…”

“I’m in love with you too.”  She blurted out and watched the emotions that filled his eyes.

“What?”  He questioned, his voice little more than a whisper.

“I said, I’m in love with you too.”  Dean tried to find the words, licking his lips as he looked down at her face.  “I told you with was confusing and annoying.”

“How can you love two people the same way?”

“I don’t know but I do.”  She shrugged, “and it’s not fair to you because of the other night but I needed you too know.”

“What do I do with this, Beth?”  He shook his head. “Sexually, you’re with Sam, and I know that I’m not stepping over that line, so what do I do?”

“I haven’t figured that part out yet.”  She tried to smile but her eyes filled up with tears as she touched his neck with her fingers.  He could hear her sniffle and closed his eyes at her touch. “I can’t give you that, but I can give you this.”

She stepped up, like she had done in the projection and kissed him squarely on the mouth.  Dean stiffened at the time but found himself relaxing under her advance, as he wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss.  It seemed to go on forever before she backed away and, breathlessly, she took a step backwards releasing him.

“I was never upset about the kiss that night in the hotel, the night Sam told us about the Cerberus.  I was upset that I didn’t know how to express what I was feeling. I had to get away, to figure it out, and I did.”  Beth laughed. 

“What about Sam?”

“He knows.”  She shrugged.  “Sam knows everything.”

“You told him about the motel?”  She nodded, “and, I’m going to assume that he knows about this and what you were going to say?”

“Would you believe he was the one that told me I needed to tell you?”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“You’re the best thing to happen to him in years, why would he want to share you with me?”  The questions that flowed through Dean’s mind were so overwhelming that he could barely contain them. “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t either, Dean, but it is what it is.  You, me and Sam, and I love…I’m in love with you both.  I just haven’t told him the in love with him part yet, at least not about him.”  She ran her hands through her hair as she turned, watching over the large field. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

It was the only thing she could say before she walked towards the shack.  Dean stood frozen in his spot, his heart full of emotions and total confusion but he knew a feeling that he hadn’t since Lisa, and what was even more upsetting was that one emotion was so much stronger with Beth, so much more dangerous.

He drew in a deep breath, as she disappeared into the shack and breathed through it.  His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and slowly he placed it to his ear.

“Yeah,” he said in a quiet, monotone voice.

_ “Dean, it’s Becca,”  _ she answered,  _ “listen, there is something really weird going down here in town and I think you three need to be here.” _

“Okay,” was all he answered as ended the call and made his way to the car.  He looked over at the small structure, turned the keys and let the engine roar as he swung around and headed off the property.  He had to do something and hunting was what he did best.

 

  
  



	7. Jeepers Peepers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the four of them find out their roles in this catastrophe of a war, things turn a little upside down for Beth and a strange new reality makes her question so many things.

Jeepers Peepers

SPNFanfic  #7

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

Beth listened as the phone rang twice before Becca answered. Sam stood in the grass looking at where the Impala used to be parked, with his hands tussled up in his long hair.  Beth was sitting on the step to the porch, watching the younger brother kicking around dirt and rocks as he swore repeatedly under his breath.

_ “Beth, why didn’t Dean bring you with him?” _

“If I could figure that boy out, Bec, we would be in seventh heaven, but Dean only does what Dean wants to do.”  Beth sighed. “Is he there with you?”

_ “You know he is,” _  Becca stated the obvious.

“I’m trying not to use the connection. Anyway, what’s going on?  Why did he run down there so quickly?”

_ “I asked him to bring the two of you but he’s being pigheaded.” _

“Another Dean Winchester trait.” 

_ “There’s something going on in town, can you come down?”  _

“Yeah, we’ll be right there.”  Beth hung up the phone and stepped up to Sam, who stood with his hands on his hips, still swearing to high Heaven as he looked up at the sky.  “Dean’s with Becca in town, she needs us to meet her. Apparently, it’s a trio thing.”

“I can’t believe he took off like that.”  Sam shook his head, as the two of them settled into the Mustang, and slid the seat all the way back.  “I’m not even going to ask what happened.”

“When I left him out there, I was emotional,” she whispered, “I shouldn’t have left him like that.”

“Can you tell me something, and be brutally honest with me,” he turned in the seat to look at her, “why are you so set to protect him?”

“I thought that would be pretty obvious,” Beth looked over at him, “I’m the same way with you, but Sam, I can be with you in every way. With Dean, it’s just harder to get through to him.”  She watched as he turned back to look out the window, with a frown on his face. “Please, don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

“Any sane, rational person would be.”  He gave a slight shrug. 

“Well it’s a good thing we specialize in irrational and insane.”  She could see the smile turn up the corner of his lips as she snuck a peek in his direction.  “Where the hell is Becca?”

“There.”  Sam pointed at the corner of the Walker Brothers’ Garage parking lot.  

Both the Grand Am and the Impala sat neatly tucked into the corner of the lot. Beth parked the Mustang leaving just enough room for Sam to open his door, with only an inch to spare from marring the side of the black car.  Dean’s face had an angry look on it as Beth stepped out and walked over to him. The two of them stood and watched Sam exit the Mustang. With a grin, Beth looked up at Dean, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm, I could have gotten in straighter,” she crossed her arms and tilted her head just a bit, “but some ass parked his Impala crooked.”

Dean took a swipe at the back of her head, just flicking her hair as he shook his.  “You could have, but since women can’t drive straight to begin with…” Beth swung her arm around as if to jab him in the stomach and Dean brought his arms up to defend. “Hey now, watch the packaging.”

“Really?” Beth stopped for a second, licked her lips and wanted so badly to come back with a good one-liner but she just smiled and repeated.  “Really?”

“You’re losing your touch, Peterson.”  Dean cracked as he walked by. Beth balled up a hand to punch him once again as he moved past her, but she swung at the air instead and grabbed Sam’s arm as the four of them approached the garage.  Just before she hit the edge of the building, Beth stopped, every emotion disappeared from her face and she gave a slow shake of her head.

“Becca, we shouldn’t go in there,” she whispered as the three of them turned to her.  “There’s death in there.”

“How do you know?” Sam’s concern was evident in his voice.

Beth looked up at him with fear in her eyes.  “I can feel it.”

“We have to go in,”  Becca spoke softly, trying to reassure her, but Beth’s feet stayed planted.

“Bee,” Dean whispered, getting close to her ears.  “Sam and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

She looked up at him, her brow creased with concern.  “It’s not me that I’m worried about.” Her eyes shifted to Becca and she shook her head.  “You can’t go in.”

“I know what they are, Beth, and I’m not afraid of them,” her friend reassured her.  Beth couldn’t control the thump of her heart against her chest or the sound of it in her ears.  “Where are they?”

With a shaky thumb, Beth pointed to the door of the bay, and watched as Becca turned and headed in that direction.  Dean quickly followed, not letting the woman go in alone, and Sam took Beth’s hand as a rush of adrenaline pulsed through him.

“Take a breath, Beth.”  He looked her in the eyes as he spoke softly and watched as she drew in a deep breath before her heart skipped a beat.  “You can fight this.”

“It’s just so much. They’re so powerful.”  She shook her head. “No one could fight this.”

“Maybe we won’t have to, if they are what we think they are.”  He watched her take another breath, drawing off of his energy, and slowly moved one foot in front of the other.  She and Sam stood at the open doorway that Dean and Becca had just disappeared through. Before she could blink, they were standing inside, but nothing of their surroundings resembled a garage bay.

It was dark, almost as if nothing else existed in this spot, except the four of them.  Dean reached over and took Beth’s free hand, holding it tightly as he stepped closer to her, and pulled her slightly behind him.  Sam had done the same move so that the smaller woman was shielded by them. Becca stepped just ahead of the boys and stared into the darkness.

“We know who you are and we come seeking assistance.”  Becca spoke in Greek, watching the small ember that sparked in the darkness become a glow that illuminated what looked like a large cavern.  In the middle, surrounding the now burning fire, sat the three men, who now looked very different than the ones that ran the shop.

Cliff stood in the middle, the holes where his eyes had been were now hollow black pits.  He raised his hands, with a pair of shears snapping in his fingers. Melvin, the man with the shifty eyes played with a length of twine as he swayed his head back and forth to the music in his mind. His eyes were closed as the strand intertwined over his fingers. Darrell looked at them, not anything like he was when Becca had seen him last, limping and struggling to move, he was the only one with an eye, one lone eye, the other socket was completely empty.

“And we know who you are.” The three of them spoke in unison, making the masculine voice overpowering, but their heads all turned in Beth’s direction.  “We know she is the North Wind and they are her protectors, Achilles and Odysseus.”

“Wait,” Dean spoke up, “what?”

“We know you, White Witch as Circe and we know why you are here.”  They turned back to Becca and all three tilted their heads which made Sam and Dean glance at each other.  “We know who summoned the Olympians but we will not get involved. We can only control destiny and your fate, but for the four of you, it is already sealed.”

“Is there anything you can tell us?”  Beth questioned, stepping forward. 

“There is one thing, North Wind, that we will warn you about,” they looked at each other for just a moment before turning back to her.  “What dreams may come true, only those of true heart can undo.”

“Why are you hiding in this town?”  

“We’ve been in hiding for centuries, child, there is no reason for us to be in this world.  Only the arrival of the Olympians has drawn us out.”

“So what now, you go back into hiding?” Dean growled. 

“When our work is done, Achilles.”  They replied as the room began to fade to black. 

In the next breath, they were standing in an empty garage bay.  Sam and Dean looked down at Beth, whose hands were gripped tightly to each of theirs, while she was staring at Becca.

“Circe?”  She questioned the other woman in the room, who shrugged and gave a bit of a smile.

“Maybe they are naming each of our parts in this fight, whatever they may be.”  Becca answered and lead them out the door, but she noticed neither man had let go of Beth until they stood by the cars.  “It’s very nice to meet you Achilles and Odysseus.” Dean gave a cocky little grin, which got a straight lipped look from Sam.

“Why the two of them?” Sam questioned.

“Achilles had one weakness, and it wasn’t his heel that ultimately killed him,” Beth sighed, looking up at Dean, “it was his disbelief in love.” She then turned her sights to Sam, “Odysseus was ingenious and cunning. He was the brains behind the brawn and both fought at the battle of Troy, ultimately taking the city.”  Beth smiled, “the names definitely fit the two of you.”

Beth released both of their hands and ducked into the Mustang, where she turned the key and revved the engine. Sam and Dean backed out of the way as she shifted it into reverse and swung it around.  She gave both a daring smile and raised her eyebrows.

“Race ya!”  She laughed and sped out of the parking lot.

“She’s going to get herself killed.”  Sam shook his head.

“Not if we beat her there.”  Dean grinned and raced to the Impala.  Sam shook his head again as Dean pulled the same maneuver as Beth and sped away after the Mustang.  Becca gestured to the passengers seat in her car and Sam slowly walked over. 

“They will never change.”  He smiled, climbing in as she turned on the car.

“Thank the Gods!”  Sam chuckled at her reply and they followed the two racers out of the parking lot.

 

Dean didn’t see Beth when he pulled into the yard, which didn’t make any sense, since the bunker was a straight shot from the garage and there were no turns or embankments along the way.  He spun the car around, kicking up the grass and fishtailed out into the road. When he came up beside the Grand Am, Sam could see the fear on his face.

“What happened?” Sam asked, leaning forward to speak through the driver’s side window.

“She didn’t make it.”  Dean snapped.

“What?”

“The Mustang isn’t here, Beth never made it back to the bunker!”  Dean growled. Sam quickly got out and raced around to the other side of the Impala.  Dean tried desperately to keep his emotions in check. “Becca, go back to the bunker and  _ please _ , call as soon as she arrives.”

“I will,” she nodded and watched the anger fill his eyes.  “Dean!” He quickly looked at her, “she’s going to be okay.”

He nodded, it was all that he could do to keep from exploding.  Dean took off, trying to keep from laying on the pedal as he and Sam scanned the road side.  There was nothing, no tire tracks, no skid marks, not even a break in the bushes, where the car might have gone off.  The road didn’t have a single guardrail to trade paint with and once they reached the parking lot, Dean spun around for another drive by.

“She’s got to be out here.  Where the hell could she have gone?”  Dean growled, as he looked at the other side of the road.

“She was right in front of you.”  Sam shrugged.

“I know that, okay!”  but Dean misunderstood, Sam wasn’t scolding him, just observing. “Sorry, I guess it gets me messed up when things like this happen.”

“I get it but we need to focus,” Sam turned back to the view and watched as they came upon two trees on an otherwise barren roadside.  “Hey, stop for a second.”

Dean pulled the Impala over just past the trees, put the hazards on and got out after Sam, who hadn’t bothered waiting for the car to completely stop before jumping out.  Dean followed him and watched as he stopped on the asphalt in the middle of the trees.

“These shouldn’t be here,” Sam stated, shaking his head.

“Why?”

“They’re Oak trees.”  

Dean shrugged.  “Let me guess, it has something to do with Greek Mythology.”

“Actually the Dryads, tree nymphs,” Sam replied to him, but he was just reciting off research as he looked at the two large Oaks.  

“Great, I hate nymphs.”

“Dean, look at this.”  Sam leaned down near the tree to the left, at the gash in the bark, and pointed at the black paint that coated it.  “That’s the same color as Beth’s car.”

“That doesn’t mean she made it, hell, we drive a black car too.”  Dean refused to acknowledge what his brother was saying but found himself gazing down at the paint.  “Dammit!”

“She cut the car through the trees?”  Sam questioned, but it wasn’t specifically to Dean. He thought for a moment and stood in the middle once more.   He stepped towards the opening between them, but was unable to get any closer. “There’s a barrier.”

“Huh?”  Dean came over and put his hand out, pressing against something solid but invisible.  “Listen, I don’t care if it’s the gateway to OZ, if Beth’s in there, we have to find a way to get to her.”

“There has to be a way to get the Dryad out.”  Sam nodded. “All of Beth’s research is at the bunker, we have to go back.”  Dean shook his head as he crossed his arms. “Dean you can’t stand here waiting for her to come out.”

“Watch me.”  

Sam closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.  “You’re impossible.” He raised his eyebrows and put his hands on his hips. “Do you really think she would want you just to stand here and hope to find a way in, or that you would do something and fight your way to her?”

“Listen, Odysseus. You think. I fight. It’s what we do.”

“Well, this time I think you should do it my way, or we’re never going to get her back.”  Sam walked away, headed back to the Impala, with the keys still in the ignition. Dean thought for a moment and looked at the open space.

“I’m sorry, Kid, he’s right.”  Dean whispered aloud, turned and headed off after his brother, climbing into the driver’s seat, before taking off down the road. 

 

Beth opened her eyes and found herself staring at a large house in front of her.  This was really odd considering the last thing she remembered was the car colliding with a tree. With a deep breath, she took note of the cars in the driveway.  One Impala, check, which means Dean was inside, one electric-hybrid…definitely a Sam car, and one…minivan? Now she knew something was wrong.

With a deep breath, she moved up to the house and entered the unlocked front door.  She could hear the hustle and bustle in the kitchen and made her way in that direction, hoping to see something familiar.  Sam stood at the window with a little girl full of curly hair on his hip. He was bouncing her as he sang a tune she had heard from somewhere before, and when he looked up at her, there was pride beaming in his eyes.

Dean was at the kitchen counter battling a little boy of about four-years-old for the last Poptart, as he held his coffee up over his head so that no one got burned.  While the little one in Sam’s arms looked just like Dean, the one Dean was playing with looked just like Sam. This was mind blowing to see but it was the voice that called out to her that shocked her the most.

“Mom,” she turned and looked at the handsome boy that stood before her, not more than ten-years-old but she could already see the features of her father in his face.  The name on his soccer shirt read PJ and her heart quickened.

“What’s up, sweetie?”  She replied with a shaky voice.  She had always wanted a son that would look like her dad and here he stood.

“My cleats are getting too small for my feet.”  He held up a pair of bright green running cleats and she smiled.

“We’ll get them after school, Paul,” Sam spoke up as he walked in with the little girl.

“But Dad, I have practice this morning.”  

Dad?  Did he really just call Sam “Dad”?  Beth turned to look at Sam, shock running across her face. 

“Paul John, your parents spoke,” Dean’s authoritative voice chimed in from the kitchen.

“But, Uncle Dean!” He pleaded and Beth turned to see Dean shake his head.  “You know, it’s not fair having three parents!” Paul whined as he turned and walked out of the room.  

Dean put the coffee cup down, picked the four-year-old up to hold him and looked over at her. “Beth, are you okay?”

“Ah?” she muttered for a moment and went over to sit on the couch.  “Would it totally freak you out if I said no?”

The look that the boys gave each other was one that Beth had remembered, and she knew things were about to get serious. They set the children down in a small play area surrounded by toys and joined her on the couch. Sam sat beside her, while Dean sat across from them in a chair with his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward.

“The doctor said this might happen again,” Dean whispered, just soft enough so the children couldn’t hear as he reached out, taking her hand in his.  “You have some memory loss from an accident ten years ago. Sometimes, what happens is that you forget what’s going on and what’s happening now.”

“Ten years?”  She sat back and closed her eyes.  “Is my father still alive?”

“He lives in Baltimore,” Sam answered and ran a hand down her back, trying to relax her as she felt herself shake.  

“The house fire?”

“Never happened.”  Dean this time was the one to reply.  They must be questions she asked every time because they were quick to fire off the answers.  He looked over at the two blissful children knee deep in toys. “That’s Jenna, she’s going to be three in two months, and Cas, he just turned four.”

“I named my son Cas?”  She tried not to laugh but she couldn’t help the irony.  “Short for Castiel?” Dean nodded. “Was that my choice?”

“Actually, it was.” Sam smiled, “we’re still trying to figure out where you came up with it.”

“And Paul?”

“Ten,” Dean replied.  “He was born a few days after the accident.  You were eight-months pregnant and hit a tree.”

“Oh my God,” she whispered and sat back, but then she sprung forward again.  “I wasn’t more than twenty. Wait a minute, three parents?”

Dean grinned at this one and she guessed it was because he was always the one that answered it. “Well, it’s kind of an odd situation. You see, Paul is yours and Sam’s, you were married about a year before he was born, Cas is also Sam’s, but Jenna belongs to you and me.”

_ “What?”  _ She tried hard not to let the overwhelming feeling of wanting to pass out take her over and her face went pale as she shook her head.  “So, I’m with you both?” Beth stood up. “Great, I’m living an episode of “Sister wives”.”

“Dean, you need to figure out a way to tell her differently next time,”  Sam snapped. “You’re going to make her pass out one of these times.”

“Okay so legally, I’m Sam’s wife, but my children belong to both of you?”  Beth ran a hand through her hair as she watched them both nod. “Perfect. One more question.  Where the hell is my car?” With Dean’s eyes on the children, Sam walked her out to the minivan.  “And...I’m a soccer mom.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go in and see the doctor?  We haven’t seen an episode like this in a while. Beth, you’re scaring me a little.”  

Beth looked up at him and shook her head. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a defense attorney.”  He smiled and she looked over the jeans, tee-shirt and flannel that he wore.  “Yeah, I don’t look like one because it’s Saturday.” Beth nodded and turned to go back inside.  

Dean was bopping around the living room, smiling the biggest cheesy grin with Jenna and as much as she loved that look in his eyes, she couldn’t help but feel out of place.  With a deep breath, she ran up the stairs, found the biggest room, with the largest bed, and flopped down on it before suddenly thinking of another scenario. It was a California King.

“Oh, please don’t tell me we all sleep here?”  She mumbled to herself.

“My room is across the hall,”Dean laughed as he stood in the doorway.  “Sam’s worried.”

“When is Sam not worried?”  She took a deep breath. “This is all so strange.”  Suddenly she looked up at Dean. “What’s your job?”

“I’m a mechanic.  I know, not the most glamorous job, not like Sammy’s but it helps pay the bills.”  Dean sat down beside her on the bed and pushed her hair away from her face. “You know it’s going to be alright.”

“A mechanic?”  She stopped for a moment and turned to him.  “Like a grease monkey, strip it down to the bare parts kind of mechanic, or the other kind of mechanic, you know, the one with a shotgun?”

“Shotgun?”  Dean questioned, and just the look on his face got her the answer that she needed.

“Never mind.”  Beth wanted to close her eyes and pop back into the real world but there was something about this one that was enticing.  She had both the men she loved, three beautiful children, her father was still alive, a house, and the whole white-picket fence deal.  “Why can’t I get past this feeling?” She turned to Dean and smiled. “Do we have a computer?”

“A computer?  Your office is stockpiled with them,” he stood and took her hand.  Quietly, he led them down the stairs to the office door just beyond the kitchen.  When Dean swung the door open, Beth was amazed at the shelves of books and the three large monitors on her desk.  

“Okay, what do  _ I  _ do if I’ve got this much crap?”  She laughed.

“You’re a professor of Mythology at Stanford.”  He grinned, always the proud one. 

“Mythology, huh, any particular lore?”  Beth moved past him to the desk and started to flip through the papers that lay across it.  

The screens buzzed on and she looked up to see a slideshow of her life, from as far back as fifteen years ago.  Her father was in most of them. There were pictures of her wedding, pictures of her and Sam, her and Dean, and with each welcoming their children into the world.  But there was one picture that caught her attention, her in a coma with a small hospital bassinet beside the bed.

“How long was it before I was able to see Paul?”  She watched with tears as it flashed through ones of Sam holding the tiny baby by the bottom while Paul lay on her warm chest, listening to her heart even though her eyes were always closed.

“Three weeks.”  Sam stepped in, past his brother and wrapped his arms around her.  “The longest three weeks of my life, but I did that several times a day.  I put him against you, hoping that you would come out of it even if it was just for that little boy.  You did, you fought your way back, but whatever you saw in that coma, came back with you. Memories of a different life.”

“Paul is named after both of our fathers?”  She looked at the two men in the room. “Where’s John?” 

“He passed away before the accident,” Dean spoke sadly.

“After the wedding or before?”  She questioned again.

“Before, which is why there are no pictures of him in it.”  

She nodded and felt Sam take her hand.  “Come on out to the kitchen and see the kids for a little bit, maybe they will help jog your memories.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.”  Beth smiled and followed them to the little island where Sam pulled out a seat and Dean poured her a cup of coffee.  “What was I doing outside?”

“You had gone to get the newspaper.”  Dean shrugged and glanced out at the curb.  “Which I’m guessing wasn’t there because you didn’t have it when you came in, and that little snot nosed brat forgot to drop it off again.”

Jenna ran up to Beth and by instinct alone, she scooped the little one up in her arms and cuddled her as she looked around.  The response to the two-year-old made both men smile but Sam’s faded as he watched her. Beth was taking in the way the house was arranged, the pictures on the walls and the drawings on the refrigerator as she held her “daughter” in her arms.  

Cas, the small boy with bouncing blond hair ran up to Sam and hugged his legs, giggling as he did and Beth couldn’t help but look at him and think of a life filled with the love that was in Cas’ eyes.  She licked her lips and stood, handing the baby off to Dean as she left the room. Halfway up the stairs .she heard Dean call out.

“Sam, you have to let her be, she’ll come around.”  She imagined Sam bounding for the stairway but there were no footfalls of his feet against the bare wood.  

At the top of the railing she stopped and looked at the room down the hall.  Something drew her to that room, something magical and she found herself standing in the doorway of Paul John’s bedroom.  The ten-year-old was engrossed in a video game that was playing on the console in front of him, and he was speaking into the microphone softly.

“She doesn’t remember again,” he whispered and sighed.  “No, it’s okay, you don’t need to come yet.” Paul turned suddenly and looked at her.  “I have to go, Grandpa.”

The boy put down the controller and the headset before standing slowly to look at her.  “Paul, it’s okay to be scared.”

“I know, Mom, but…”he stopped and walked over to the door, looking down the hall before he pulled her in and closed it.  “I have to tell you something and you’re going to think I’m insane.”

“Sweetie, I would never think you were insane, but then again, you are your father’s son.”

“I’m not,” His reply stopped her dead in her tracks and she sat down on the bed, looking at him confused.  “Mom, you have to wake up. This isn’t real.”

“Paul, what are you talking about?”

“They know that you still remember, they’re going to make this hard for you to fight and you have to fight, Mom, you can’t give in.”  The young man walked over and ducked under the bed for a second, grabbing a box. “When I was little you told me that there would come a time that you would come home, sort of, and you would be different.”

“How am I different this time, Paul?”  She whispered.

“You know things aren’t right.”  He sat beside her on the bed, his blue-green eyes sparkled with life.  “Dad, Uncle Dean, you know there’s something wrong with it all.”

“How?  How do you know all of this?”  She questioned, watching as he opened the box and pulled out an old leather bound journal, handing it to her.  Beth swallowed hard, after a breath was caught in her throat. This wasn’t her father’s journal, it was John Winchester’s.  “Where did you get this?”

“You gave it to me, and you told me that this was what we were, this was our legacy and Mom, it’s true, it’s all true.  There are monsters out there and you have to fight them.” Paul pulled out a small stake, handing it to her. “This is white birch, you told me it would help you when it came time.  You need to take it Mom, you have to.”

“Okay, Kid, I’ll take it, but you can’t say anything to your dad or to Uncle Dean that we talked.”  Paul nodded and Beth reached out a hand, touching the boy’s dark hair. “You’re exactly how I imagined he would be.”

“I know, you told me that before too.”  Paul smiled and Beth blinked away the tears.  

She kissed him on the forehead, tucked the stake in the back of her jeans and walked out of the room.  Her emotions were high and now she knew that her gut was right. Something was off, besides the obvious fact that she was married to one and had children by both.  In any sane world, where would she allow that to happen?

She needed to figure out what was going on and there was only one way to do it.  Creeping down the stairs, she made her way to the office where she closed the door tightly and locked it behind her.  In a scramble she moved papers around on the desk. It was nice to see that she was consistent in her efforts to be completely disorganized in whichever world she lived in.

She glanced up at that computer as she finally figured out what she was working on before she had stepped out to get the newspaper this morning.  Dreams.

 

Dean paced the bunker as Sam tapped away on the computer.  He ran his hand over the axe that hung on the wall, over the broad sword that Beth was determined not to let Sam touch, and he sighed.  He knew she was in danger, he could feel it in his gut. It was then that he grabbed the axe off the wall.

“Dean, what the hell are you doing?”  Sam spoke up, breaking him from the train of thought that he was on.  

“If the trees are keeping her trapped, I’m going to chop the son of a bitch down!”  Dean growled. 

Sam ran over and stopped him, putting his hands on the handle of the axe.  “You can’t do that if she’s inside, it will kill her.”

“And the Dryad,” Becca spoke up and walked over with a book.  She turned it so the boys could see what she was looking at. 

“It’s a nymph, I think I know how to take care of those little bastards.”  Dean was so angry and it showed on his face.

“Listen, these aren’t like the water one,” Becca assured him.  “If she’s stuck there, they might be her only protection against whatever pulled her into that spot.  The Dryads wouldn’t hurt a soul, for the very reason that you are threatening. If you cut down the tree, you risk killing the one thing that might be keeping her safe.”

“So what are we going to do?”  Sam questioned.

“There’s a spell to draw out whichever one is in there with her, and with that there should be a way to get answers from it.”  She shrugged. “You just have to give me a few to find the right spell. Every nymph is different and some will only answer to certain calls.”

“Fine, you two figure it out, I’m going outside!”  Dean handed off the axe to Sam and made his way up and out of the bunker.  He stepped off the porch and headed towards the Impala but in an instant he stopped, expecting to see Sam behind him.  He was ready to go off but when he turned, Castiel stood there staring at him. “Cas! I almost bit your head off, man.”

“Your mouth isn’t big enough to do that, Dean,” he answered in classic Castiel fashion.  “I have some news.”

“Is it how to get Beth out of a tree?” Dean questioned and Cas looked at him confused.  “Forget it, what did you find?” 

“Nothing.” Dean was used to his matter-of-fact statements but this one made him raise an eyebrow.  

“You found nothing?”  He reiterated.

“Exactly.”

“How is that news, Cas?”

“It means that whoever is doing this isn’t in with the usual people, which means we can narrow it down and find out who it is by taking out those we watch over.”  Dean gave him a thoughtful look and then nodded. “Dean, there is something else.”

“I’m listening.”

“There has been talk amongst the masses about the rising of a Titan.”  Cas stepped closer. “In fact, the mention of Cronus was brought up several times.”

“The father of Zeus?”  Dean shook his head. “This day just gets better and better.” With his fingers to his forehead, Dean closed his eyes.  “Can you locate Beth?”

“I haven’t seen or felt her in several hours,” Cas answered honestly.  “I’ve been keeping an eye out for her, if you could call it that, in case you need help but she recently disappeared from my scans.”

“Yeah, she was taken, but we don’t know by who.”

“I’m sorry, Dean, I know how much she means to you.”  Dean nodded but couldn’t say anything else to his friend, he didn’t know how to respond to him and it sucked because Cas was his go to guy.  “I must go but I will keep looking for Beth. Call me, Dean, if you need me.”

“Thanks Cas.”  He felt the wind as the angel disappeared. 

He walked along the side of the Impala, sliding his hand against the curves of the car and closed his eyes.  He wanted to see if he could do what Beth did. Could he contact her through his thoughts like she did to him? But there was nothing, no answer back, no way of knowing and he rested both hands against the back of the car, looking at himself in the reflection of the back window.  He was supposed to protect her but he didn’t. He needed to find her but he couldn’t. All he had was his faith in Sam that she would be okay and he would see her again.

 

Beth sat at the computer staring at the Gods on the screen.  There were three of them but she knew which one was targeting her this time, Phantasos, the God of surreal dreams, and the bastard had just met his match.  

“Come on Becca, you’ve got this one in the bag, we talked about Morpheus when I was in Baltimore.”  For a second Beth stopped and closed her eyes. She knew it wouldn’t work, there was too much magic surrounding her but it had to be tried.   _ “Sam, if you can hear me just listen.  Becca needs to hear me, she needs to know to remember Baltimore.” _

“What are you doing in here?”  Dean’s voice broke her concentration and her eyes snapped open to see him standing in the doorway.  With a quick flick of the mouse, the screensaver popped on just as he rounded the corner of the desk and the slideshow of her life skimmed through the photographs again.

“Trying to remember.”  She shrugged and watched as he paused it at the picture of the six of them huddled at her hospital bed, a little bundle wrapped in pink in her arms.  “That’s when Jenna was born.”

“The stories the nurses were telling, like clucking hens.” Dean smiled and touched the screen, not only caressing the baby’s face but also Beth’s.

“What did you tell them when you signed the birth certificate?”  She turned and pointed to the one that hung in the frame on the wall.  She had intended to ask just why all three certificates were there but this one was much more interesting.

“You and Sam couldn’t have any more, at least that’s what we said, so I donated.”  Dean grinned. She had to admit, even in her dreams, he had that sly dog look down.  “We couldn’t really tell them the truth could we.”

“No, I guess not.”  Beth smiled as he kissed her on the forehead and walked back out of the room.

 

Sam stood at the counter, looking through the mythology books that lined the shelves when a pain seared through his temple, but what he heard in his head was like a broken old radio.  It was scratchy and mumbled but the words got through enough for him to make some out. Dean looked up at Sam, watching him stand there dumbfounded and tilted his head in curiosity.

“It’s Beth.”  He whispered and watched as Dean’s eyes perked up.  “She said to tell Becca to remember Baltimore.”

“Wait, say that again?”  Becca questioned as she stepped up to the counter.

“She said Baltimore.”  Sam shrugged and watched Becca suddenly go to the shelves. Both brothers looked at each other, confused by her actions but when she came back to the table and set a thick encyclopedia down upon it, the confusion turned to hope.  “So, are you going to let us in on the secret?”

“Baltimore was one of those times where she came back here after a particularly nasty encounter with something called a Nue, and from Japan these were considered to be the harbinger of sickness and bad luck.  In the case in Baltimore, the Nue came as a walking, talking nightmare. It killed more than a half-dozen people before she got to it. Every time they closed their eyes, they would have vivid nightmares until they wasted away, which is what the Nue fed on.  Beth caught the nightmare bug, but because the Nue was dead she was able to recover. It took her a week, a LOT of IV fluid and some TLC to get rid of them but she pulled through.”

“Sounds like a bad Harpy trip,” Dean replied and Sam raised his eyebrows.  He knew that Dean could relate.

“So what does then have to do with now?” Sam inquired and watched Becca smile as she turned the book towards them.

“In Greek Mythology, there are three brothers that control your dreams.  Morpheus, harmless but a dream bringer, his brother Phobetor, God of nightmares, and Phantasos, the God of surreal dreams.”  

“Sounds like a peachy bunch, how do we kill them?”  Dean was direct and to the point.

“Well, the first problem is narrowing down which one has her.  If she’s mentioning Baltimore she could be pointing at two of the three, but there was something about what she was dealing with that makes me think I can narrow it down to just one.”  Becca grabbed a journal from the shelves and placed it on the table. It was Beth’s father’s leather-bound book but she knew that for a while, Beth was also writing in it. “After she had woken up, Beth wrote down her dreams and to me, they didn’t sound like nightmare but more like “what ifs” and more to the point, she said they felt real.”

“Phantasos,” Sam pointed out reading some of the old textbook in front of him.  “He can make you feel like things are so real that they become part of your memories.”

“So she thinks she’s in a real place?”  Dean sat back and tapped on the table, giving his brother a sly grin.  “I wonder what she’s dreaming about?”

“Dean, try to focus.”  Sam rolled his eyes. “Phantasos can literally make you feel like you can fly, so what would Beth’s surreal dreams be?”

“A family,” Becca whispered, looking up at the two of them.  “And not just any family. A Winchester/Peterson one.”

“With both of us?”  Dean’s smile got even wider and Sam swung the book at him.

“Actually, he’s not that far off,” Becca replied.  “You two are her soulmates, you’re tied to her and it would only be fair to say that yes, both of you would be there.  As far as the dynamics of it, I couldn’t even guess but now we know who and I know how.”

They watched as she gathered several items and placed them into the bags that she set around.  Herbs from the paneled room, a few old spell books from the shelves, a dagger and some beautiful quartz crystals from the drawer.  Sam found it interesting to watch her move about the bunker, knowing where everything was.

“I’m pretty sure we got everything.”  She set the bag down on the table and shrugged.  “We just need to get out there and do the spell.”

“Is it going to hurt her?”  Dean question, the tone of his voice was pure concern and he watched Becca shake her head.  “Well, let’s get on with it.”

 

Beth stepped out of the office and watched as Cas and Jenna ran past her up and down the hallway.  She scooped up the little boy on his second time through and kissed him softly on the cheek before putting him down to run after his sister.  Sam stood at the entrance of the living room, leaning against the door jamb with a smile on his face. Beth stood just inches in front of him, grabbed his shirt and pulled herself up on her tiptoes to get him to lean in for as kiss, which he did and his lips brushed hers softly.

“I’m sorry your dad wasn’t at our wedding, and never got to meet Paul,” she whispered and watched as he stared down into her eyes.

“He’s here with us every day.  Paul John acts just like him sometimes.”  His voice was the same, calm, cool and seductive.  “Are you starting to remember?”

“No, I’m sorry, but I’m trying to, and I accept everything here, especially our beautiful children.  I’ve always wanted a few,” she laughed, “especially with you.”

“We could have more, you know.” Sam winked and wrapped his arms around her.

“That is such a tempting offer, Mr. Winchester.” Beth grinned as she ran her hand through his hair.  “But we seem to have a house full at the moment, and I don’t see Dean anywhere.”

“You’re right, and he might be a little upset if I get you pregnant before he has a chance to.”  Sam laughed. This comment was so off that Beth searched his smiling face for any bit of jealousy, not finding any at all.

“You’re completely okay with the fact that Dean and I slept together to conceive Jenna?”  She whispered. 

“You never really slept together. I know it’s hard to wrap your head around but we both love you, and you love us.  How could I say no to the fact that my brother wanted a family too?” Beth stepped back out of his arms and glanced up the hall as Dean stepped into the room.  Sam grinned up at him. “The three of us have an agreement, you wrote it up yourself, Bee.” The alarms went off in her head at that nickname, only Dean called her that. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I…I think I need to lie down.”  She move towards the stairway once again and quickly made her way to the second floor bedroom, locking the door behind her.

As soon as she was on the bed, she pulled out John’s notebook and thumbed through it.  She had seen it all before, but the closer she got to the end, the more she saw the drawings on the paper.  She saw little lines here and there, and turned the book over and flipped it quickly backwards. All the lines connected and she watched as it acted like a flip book, spelling out one simple line. “It’s not real Beth!”

“Oh my God.”  She wasn’t sure how she was getting out of this one but she knew one thing for sure, Paul John was coming with her.  The music from the room next door filled her head and for a moment she heard the chanting that flowed through the white noise in the background.

 

Becca read from an old spell book as Dean and Sam completed the diagram she had handed them. The crystals and herbs had been placed around both trees and the dagger was used to carve the symbols into the dirt around them, but nothing touched the trees.  The barrier was only between them and Dean noticed that he was able to circle both sides of each to connect the end of each part of the diagram. He looked up as he felt the presence instantly and watched as Becca stared at Castiel, without breaking stride in her chanting.

“Cas, what are you doing here?” Dean whispered as he approached.  Sam continued what he was tasked to do as his older brother questioned the Angel.  

“If she’s truly in a dream state, when she wakes up, I should be able to find her and bring her out of her prison,” Castiel explained.

“Good, because besides a chainsaw, I’m not sure how we would have gotten her out of the tree.”

“She’s not in it,” Cas spoke up and Sam and Becca turned to look at him.  “The trees act as a portal to Phantasos’ dream plane, that’s where he has her, but breaking the link between the trees should clear a path for me to get to her, but Dean, you must hurry, she’s waking up.”

Becca and Sam quickly turned back to what they needed to do and Dean, who nodded at the Angel approached the trees.  “Hang in there, Bee, we’re coming to get ya.”

 

The voice was familiar, and getting louder, just underneath that she could hear Dean’s voice and felt the house shake from the intrusion.  The children screeched in terror as she quickly left the room, meeting Paul John in the hallway. With her hand wrapped around the ten-year-old’s, the two of them hit the bottom stair with a quickness that neither Sam or Dean had ever seen.  

Sam held Jenna, Dean cuddled Cas close to him, and all six stood in the opening of the living room archway while the house trembled once again.  

“Where the hell do we live that we would be getting an earthquake?”  Beth questioned, looking at the boys in frustration. She hated earthquakes, in fact she was pretty terrified of them. 

“We’re in New York, Beth,” Dean snapped and watched  as she shook her head.

“Then this, shouldn’t be happening,” she answered, hugging her oldest son close. The aftershocks knocked things from the shelves and as she watched them come down, she noticed something strange.  Pictures of John Winchester. They hadn’t been there the first few times she had passed the stairway but there were several there now, along with pictures of Bobby. “When did those get put up?”

“The pictures?”  Sam questioned, “Beth, they’ve always been there.”

“Something’s not right here,” she mumbled under her breath and watched the bright set of blue-green eyes stare up at her.  “I’m sorry Paul, but I have to get out of here.”

“I know, Mom,” he answered and they all turned as the doorway to the shaken house kicked open.  Beth stood in shock as her father walked through the door.

“Dad?”  She swallowed, her heart skipping a beat as he made his way in and quickly she turned to the boys.  “I thought you said he lived in Baltimore.”

“No, on Baltimore Street,” Dean responded, which made her even more convinced.  

“There is no Baltimore Street in town,” she corrected him and stepped away from the protection of the overhead beams.  She turned to face the older man and clenched her fists. “Phantasos?”

“Who?” Sam questioned, but the man in front of her gave her a smile of acknowledgement.  

“I’m done here, send me home,” Beth blocked out the rest of them but Paul John came to her side.

“You can’t go home North Wind, you’re mine now.”  His grin widened. It was unnerving to see her father standing there after so many years, but she also knew, whatever it was, it really wasn’t him.

“Send me home  _ NOW, _ ” she ordered.  Paul John stepped in front of her, trying to be protective as the older man stepped towards her.  With one wave of his hand, Phantasos used his powers to toss the child across the room. Beth’s anger flared as she watched Paul John land in an unconscious heap on the floor.  “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Oh and why not?”  The man before her questioned.  He was close enough for her to reach out her hand and use all the anger that built up in her for one quick push of a blast of energy.  A blinding white light sent her straight into darkness.

 

Dean watched as the barrier between the trees shattered like a glass window pane and with a strong blast of wind, it disappeared in towards the field.  He stepped up and reached a hand out, there was nothing stopping him from passing between the trees and quickly he turned to Cas.

“She’s out of the dream state.  Give me a second to locate her,” Castiel spoke up as Becca continued to chant.

“We have to keep going with the spell to pull Phantasos out with her so we can take care of him once she’s free,” Sam added, as Dean grabbed the weapons from the back of the car.  “Grab the crossbow and quiver, they all seem to be weak against the olive branch arrows.” 

“Got her!”  Castiel stated and disappeared in a flutter of wings, the same sound Dean had always heard when he left and knew he would return with Beth in tow.

 

The next thing she saw through blurred vision was the barred cage that she was trapped in.  The walls weren’t concrete, they were made of wood as she pressed her hand against them to sit up.  Her body felt as if she had gone through a war, sore all over but it was the little boy that stood on the other side of the iron door that made her move quickly.

“Paul John, where am I?”

“I’m sorry, Mom, he told me to lock you in here.  I didn’t want to listen to him,” the boy pleaded.

“Listen to me, you were only doing what you were told.  Open the door so I can get out and we’ll take him on together.”  She suggested and watched as the shy boy glanced in both directions before flipping the lock.  Beth watched him open the door and she pulled him in to hug him. The ten-year-old, almost as tall as she was, wrapped his arms around her, holding on tightly when he was suddenly struck across the back.

 

Sam ducked as a bolt of lightning hit the tree, leaving a gaping gash across the thick trunk.

“NO!”  Dean screamed and looked around.  “Something’s going for the Dryad, Becca, how can we protect it?”  

“The spell isn’t working for me, you need to read it.”  She handed the book off to him, as Sam quickly stepped up beside his brother.  

In deep voices, both began to recite they words that were written in a language they didn’t understand but the words came out as fluent, exact pronunciations, as if something guided their tongues.  Their voices grew in volume and the next bolt missed the tree, falling short. 

“It’s working!”  Becca yelled, still standing in the circle as the wind  picked up, “keep going.”

Sam poured his heart into every word, and Dean’s emotions vibrated through his.  They were not going to let anything happen to Beth.

 

She cradled the boy to her as she knelt on the dirt ground of the prison she was locked in. Her vision filled with tears as the shined shoes and dark pants of the angel appeared in her line of sight.  With heaving breaths, she looked up at Cas and shook her head.

“I’m not leaving without him.”  The tears streamed down her face and all Cas did was nod.

 

The brightness from the sun was blinding and she found herself sitting next to a large Oak tree. As she looked up at the boys, who were standing in the middle of a ritual circle with Becca beside them, she could feel the presence of the darkness behind her.  

“You can’t escape that easily, North Wind.”  Phantasos wasn’t far from her, she could almost feel the pull of the dream state again as she put the boy against the tree and propped one foot on the ground, the other underneath her.

Dean had seen that look before, when she had shot the Gorgon and he tapped Sam on the arm.  She stared directly at the boys and waited for the man to come close enough to her. Her breathing was even and she gave no indication that she was about to make any move as her left hand, the furthest from the monster’s sight, slipped in behind her coat and her hand wrapped around the oak spear that Paul John had given her.

He was within a foot of reaching out and touching her and just as he bent down to place a hand on her shoulder, Beth stood, whipped around and drove the stake straight through the heart of the God.

“I have no plans to ever return with you again,” she growled as he looked at her in shock.  Dean and Sam’s voices went silent as she twisted the stake deeper into him and the God’s mouth hung open in shock.  “Take yourself back to Olympus and tell whoever they think they’re sending after me not to even think about messing with my family, or by Zeus almighty, I will reign a hell fire so hot down upon you that none of you will survive!”

She watched as he stumbled backwards and just as he was off balance, Beth struck out with her leg, sending him tumbling, as the light began to rise in him.  Dean, Sam and Becca ducked at the bright light that burst from where the God had turned to dust, and when they stood, Beth was standing in the same spot, unmoved by the disappearance.

“Beth!”  Sam yelled, but she only turned and gathered the boy up in her arms again.  They watched in silence as she lowered her head to his, holding him close.

“I wish I could see you again,” she whispered, her voice shook as she spoke.  “You would have been such a handsome, strong man. Thank you for being there for me, for being this rock, but it’s my turn to return the favor.”

Beth placed a hand against the tree and closed her eyes.  All the anger, all the hatred and all the love her had for the boy in her arms rose in her chest and she was taken back to the night she lost him.  It was snowing , they were all in the car. Her father was driving, Paul John was buckled to her left, Serena to her right, and she could see the doll on the floor in front of her.  Her mother occupied the passenger seat and her parents were talking quietly when she started to kick around for the doll. Paul John, ten at the time, not more than six years older than her, unsnapped the buckle and reached down to grab the ragdoll from the floor.

Beth smiled as he handed it back to her, stating not to drop it again before he struggled to get the belt back on just as the semi collided with the driver’s side of the car.  Beth remembered the flipping, the screaming and then the silence. It was the last time she saw her older brother and her mother’s face in person. The next time, it was in pictures that adorned their coffins.

Beth screamed aloud, pain flashed through every nerve in her body and she sent it out through her hand.  The light that surrounded her and boy she held was overpowering, and even as Becca covered her eyes, sensitive to the nature of it, Dean and Sam could feel the full range of emotions that moved from her to the tree beside her and they watched in awe as the gash from the lightning and that from the car healed over.

Her scream turned to cries as she slowly released the tree and wrapped both arms around the boy in her lap.  Neither brother moved, they didn’t dare, not until she was ready, and she didn’t move for awhile, not until a small hand reached up and grasped her by the shoulder.  That was when she picked up her head and looked down at the smiling face of the child in her lap.

“You save me,” Paul John whispered and she caressed her hand down his face kissing him on the cheek.

Beth smiled widely and sniffled.  “You saved me first.”

“Can I keep his name?”  He asked as he suddenly sprang from her arms and knelt down in front of her, laughing.

“Please.”  She nodded, “and his face?  Will you keep his face?”

“I’ve never had one.”  The little Dryad laughed.  “I like this face, I like having a name.”

“It’s yours now.”  She grinned and touched his cheek once again.  “Your tree will be safe. My friend will make sure of it.”  

He stood up, fully recovered from his injuries and skipped about before coming back and kissing her on the cheek.  “Goodbye, Mom.” Because that was the only name he knew her by, not by sister, not by Beth. In the dream world, she was his mom, but in her life, he was her brother.

“Goodbye Paul John.”  She smiled and watched as he disappeared into the tree.  

She couldn’t move from that spot, there was no way and suddenly, arms were around her, two sets of strong loving arms as she broke down and let out all of her pain, but the love she felt surrounded by, helped ease it.

“What the…would you look at that.”  Dean’s voice spoke up and Beth turned her head to look behind her.  There, in the field of grass, was her Mustang.

“I hate that car!”  She sighed and leaned her head against Sam’s.  “I want my Fox back.”

She could feel Sam laugh under the weight of her head and it was one of the best sounds in the world to her. Helping her to her feet, the boys brought her to the car and opened the back door.  Beth watched as Becca placed a protection spell around both Oak trees, one so strong that nothing, not even an Olympian God would be able to pass through it without the permission of the nymphs that occupied them.

“He’s been in there for two-hundred years,” Beth whispered as Sam grabbed a cloth and doused it with water. She looked up at him as he ran the cold cloth over her face.  “Two centuries without a name or a face.”

“You gave him one, Beth.”  He reassured her and watched her nod.  Dean stood beside the door, ever the protector, and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Becca begin to pack up, but he wouldn’t leave Beth’s side.

“It’s okay, Dean, if you want to help her.”  Beth whispered as she grabbed his arm and coaxed it loose so she could hold his hand.  Dean wrapped his fingers around her small hand, watching as hers intertwined with his and he leaned down to kiss it. 

“No more racing,”  he stated, raising his eyebrows and waited for her to nod in agreement before releasing her to help Becca pick up.

“You scare the hell out of me, Elizabeth.”  Sam smiled and watched her blue eyes turn in his direction.  “What happened in there?”

“We had a family.” She smiled, caressing his cheek with her fingers.  “Paul John was our oldest, Cas was four.”

“Wait, we named our son Cas?”  Sam laughed.

“Yeah, I kind of questioned that too.”  Beth smiled. “But, it got a little weird when I found out our youngest, a feisty little girl, was actually mine and Dean’s, but don’t tell him that.”  

“Wait, yours and Dean’s?”  Beth nodded, one of those knowing grins on her face, and Sam shook his head, eyebrows raised.  “Wow.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” she sighed.  “My dad was still alive. We, you and I, were married and I swear we were in an episode of “Sister Wives”, but Cas and Paul called him Uncle Dean, and Jenna, though she never spoke, probably called you Uncle Sam.”

“And this was your idea of a surreal dream?”  Beth bit her lip and nodded. “Do you want to have a baby with my brother?”

“Do you want to get smacked?”  Beth retorted, which made Sam smile.

“No, I’m just curious as to why that would happen.”  She could see that curiosity wasn’t the only emotion on his face.  With two dirty hands, Beth cupped his chin and made him look up at her.

“You’re the only one I want to have babies with, Sam Winchester!”  She smiled and kissed him passionately on the lips. He backed away, nodding.

“So you do want babies?”

“Oh my God, will you stop!”  Beth grabbed the cloth from him and wiped the prints from his face.  “It didn’t come up but I think Jenna was because of artificial means, if you get my drift. After Cas, from what I got, we were having problems conceiving.”

“Oh, okay.”  He replied, as if that didn’t make it any better.  

“Look it was one flipping screwed up dream.”  She tossed the cloth at him and laid back in the car.  “Can we just go home? To a place where I don’t drive a minivan?”

“You were a soccer mom?”  Sam chuckled, which made her prop herself up with her elbows.  “Hey, I think it’s very sexy,” he climbed up into the car, pinning her to the backseat.

“You know what’s not sexy?”  She asked as he leaned down on her, kissing her softly.  “The fact that Dean had sex on this very backseat and I’m pretty sure that he hasn’t cleaned it in like ever!”

Sam’s smile disappeared and he rolled his eyes, backing out of the car.  Beth grabbed Dean’s leather jacket, rolled it up and placed it under her head, smiling.  It was great to be home. With everything straightened up, Sam grabbed the keys to the Impala, Dean was able to get the Mustang out of the field and Becca followed them both to the bunker once again.

 

Beth sat on the small chair, with her knees to her chest and a hot cup of coffee in hand. Her wet, stringy hair hung down on her shoulders and her eyes drifted closed.  She felt strong hands around hers and slowly the cup was removed, which made her eyes open wide.

“Hey I was drinking that,” she snapped at Sam, who sat down on the couch to her right.

“You were about to wear it, not drink it.”  He laughed. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“I’m afraid to,” she admitted and glanced at Dean who had taken the other chair just across from her.  “As real as that place was, I’m afraid to fall asleep and get sucked back in.”

“You ganked that monster, Beth, it’s not coming back for you,” Dean reassured her.  “And that threat, well, I think they’ll be a little reluctant to come after you right now.”

“You heard that?”  Dean tapped on his head, and she turned to Sam who also nodded.  “Sorry, I guess I tapped into a little too much.”

“The power you let off was amazing.”  Sam sat back and shook his head. 

“And dangerous,” Dean added.

“Oh, come on, guys.  I was emotional.” Beth looked over at Becca, “a little help here please?”

“I agree with Dean,” she shrugged sitting on the opposite end of the couch, “although, you definitely had a reason.”

“Thanks,” she replied and put her head back.  Scenes of Sam kissing along the length of her neck and down where the flannel shirt was unbuttoned made her whip her head quickly in his direction.  Sam looked at her quickly and repositioned himself on the couch. “That certainly doesn’t help.”

“Sorry,” he replied, clearing his throat, but the cheesy grin on his face told her he really wasn’t.

“Oh, God, you know, I think I’m just going to change your names to Bunny and Rabbit because seriously, every time I turn around…” Dean grumbled, shaking his head, but his rant only made Beth smile and he looked at her, winking.

“It’s a sign of a healthy relationship,” Becca spoke up, not oblivious to the looks the three of them were passing around.  Beth smiled and put her head back again. “Which reminds me, what did happen in your dream?”

Beth glanced at Sam, who knew the story and picked her head up once more.  She dipped down lower to keep the heaviness that swarmed around her from taking her into the sleep it wanted.  “Ah, Sam and I had three kids, two boys and a girl.” She nodded. “Paul John was named after both our fathers and he was the oldest, ten.  We had Castiel, who was four and Jenna who was two.” 

“Cas?”  Dean smiled and Beth rolled her eyes.  

“Apparently my idea, which kind of shocked me because it was the first sign that there was no way it was real.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Cas, but seriously, if I didn’t know him I wouldn’t name my kid that. The second sign was that nothing ever happened, the fire, the memories, my dad’s death, nothing, except John was still dead and there weren’t any pictures around.  Paul John was my next clue. He was just like I remembered him, but now he was calling me Mom.” Beth’s voice was fading as her eyes grew tired but she perked up and watched as Dean sat forward in the chair. “You were Uncle Dean, but you lived with us, so we were three parents in a three child household.”

“So what really gave it away?”

“Paul John handed me your dad’s journal and an Oak stake, he told me that I had given it to him a long time ago and if I were to ever question things, that he was to give them back.”  Beth rubbed the side of her nose with her finger and sat up. “What I didn’t get was that he knew I remembered my life here, that I must have done it before. The only time I have no memories of what was going on was the night I got lost in the cave. Maybe Phantasos had me then, maybe I planted that memory in my head so that when I went into it again, it triggered the response the ten-year-old had given me.”

“It’s possible,” Becca shrugged.  “If you have no memories of one night and the same God was involved, who’s to say that your brain didn’t store what happened until it was needed again.”

“So we all lived together?” Dean questioned.  “Where was my car?”

“In the driveway.”  He seemed relieved that at least Baby had made it into her memories.  “Mine on the other hand, was upgraded to a minivan, and Sam’s to some cute little hybrid.”

“I would never drive a hybrid.”  Sam added quickly which made Beth laugh.  

“You were also a defense attorney, and I was a mythology professor at Stanford.”  She shrugged.

“What did I do?”  Dean asked.

“You were a mechanic, and you said it lightly because really you owned your own shop, I saw it on one of the work shirts in the house.”  Beth yawned and shook the sleep from her head. “I can’t fight this anymore.”

“Come on, Sleepy McGee, I’ll take you to bed.”  Sam stood and reached out a hand.

“I’m sleeping this time, Sam.”  She made sure to state that fact as he grinned and helped her from the chair.  Dean rolled his eyes and Beth glanced back at him. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”

Dean tipped his beer in her direction and watched as they walked into the bedroom. Sam kept the door open, making his intentions of not staying clear to Dean.

 

Beth curled up on the bed, tucking the pillow under her head as she looked at Sam, who sat down on the floor beside the edge that she was closest too.  He took her hand in his and played with her fingers as her eyes fought to stay open.

“It wasn’t all that bad, you know,” she smiled, “this dream world I was in.  I had you, and our children and there was such love there, and no monsters, no fear.”

“We could have that, Beth,” he whispered, leaning his chin on his arm.  “Just walk away and have everything you dreamed of.” He pushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ears.  “I love you, you know.”

“I love you too, Sam.”  She smiled as her eyes disappeared behind those heavy lids.  

He kissed her fingers one at a time and watched as her breathing slowed and her body relaxed.  He stared at her for a while, memorizing everything about her face, and then stood, kissed her cheek and left the room with the door open.

 

Dean was pacing near the chairs as he looked up at Sam.  “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she finally fell asleep, but man did she fight it,” he sighed.  Dean peeked into the room for a second and nodded. “I know you want to keep an eye on her, it’s why I left the door open, but you can’t sit by her bed every night to make sure she doesn’t disappear again.”

“I know.”  He nodded. 

“Is it really that strong?”  Sam questioned. Dean licked his lips and looked at his brother, waiting for an explanation of Sam’s question. “You love her?”  Dean nodded, the look of being caught and waiting for the scolding spread over his face. “I love her too, Dean. We have to work together to make sure she’s safe.  I’m really proud that you listened to what I had to say today instead of going in full force to try and get her out.”

“You were right, with what you said,” Dean agreed, “she would have wanted us to figure it out.”

“It’s not you and me against the world anymore, now we have Beth.”  Sam glanced around the room. “Where did Becca go?”

“I walked her to her car so she could head home.”  Dean smiled. “I figured being a big, bad, Greek white witch she should be fine to make it on her own.”

“We never did talk about that.”

“About what?”

“The whole Achilles, Odysseus, our destinies are sealed thing that the Fates laid out today.”  

“What’s there to talk about?  I know who I am, Greek name or not, and I know who you are.  We’re us, Sammy, and we’re not going to let anything happen to her, same as always.”  Dean walked over and grabbed two beers out of the refrigerator, handing one to his brother.  “You know what makes me feel more at ease?” Dean asked as he sat in his usual chair. “That this place is warded against everything except Hera.”

“So now you accept the Goddess that possessed her?”

Dean shrugged.  “She healed her after the Gorgon attack and told me that the only thing Beth needed for strength was us, that Hera would make sure her wounds were taken care of so she could do the rest.”

“I don’t know, Dean, we’ve dealt with a lot of Gods, demons, angels and a lot of broken promises. I think we should just keep her close and watch over her.”  Sam stretched out on the couch and was about to relax when he heard crying from the bedroom. 

Slowly both of them stood and walked over to the doorway where Beth slept.  Tears streamed down her face as she tried to breathe through whatever dream she was having.  Sam set the beer on the counter and walked in. He lay on his back and pulled her closer, letting her put her head on his chest as she took a few deep breaths.  He looked up as the bed moved on the other side of her and Dean lay on his right side, arm under his head. The two brothers exchanged looks for a moment before Dean placed a hand on Beth’s waist and watched as she slipped her small hand under his, an action she took every time Dean lay close.

Dean didn’t curl up to her like he usually did, there was some distance between their bodies, but he decided that she was close enough to him that he was just going to close his eyes. Sam, not totally sure of what to do next, placed his right arm up behind his head and wrapped his left over her shoulder, letting the feel of her relaxing bring him into a light sleep.

 

When Sam woke the next morning, the bed was empty except for him and slowly he sat up.  Dean’s boots were gone from where he had finally kicked them off sometime in the night and Beth’s pajamas were in a pile by the dresser.  Curiously he made his way out of the room and peered into the second bedroom, it was empty. The rest of the bunker was silent except for the sound of the vent as it circulated the air around him.

On the table, written in bright pink highlighter was a note in Beth’s handwriting.  “Took Dean to run some errands since he was up my ass this morning about not going alone.  I swear it won’t end like last time. I love you, Beth.”

Sam sighed, once again being left alone but he smiled at the note, knowing she was in good hands with his brother and started the coffeemaker before picking the cell phone up off the charger.  He dialed Dean’s number and listened to it ring.

_ “Yeah,” _ Dean answered in his normal fashion.

“Where are you guys now?”  Sam questioned, which got a snicker from his brother.

 

Dean leaned against the side of the Impala, one hand in his coat pocket, the other obviously holding the phone and he looked up through the rows of headstones at Beth who was only about five-hundred yards away.

“Lockes Gate Cemetery.”  Dean replied.

_ “What’s up at Lockes Gate?”´  _ Sam questioned.

“Her mother,” Dean answered.  “She said grab the Mustang keys and come on up.  You can’t miss it, it’s just on the other side of Main Street, on the other side of town.”

_ “Okay, I’ll be there in a few,” _ Sam replied.   _ “Wait, did she just tell you that now?” _

“Nope, before she got out of the car, she said if you called to have you come up.”

_ “Alright, see you soon.”  _

Dean flipped the phone shut and stuck it back in his pocket.  He didn’t go up to her, he knew what she was there for, and who, he was the one that remembered but Sam never knew, so he kept his distance and waited for his brother to arrive.  Besides, he hated cemeteries, never believed that ghost hung around them, but he knew that Beth needed a place to go, to make her peace with the past.

The Mustang pulled in not more than five minutes later and Dean looked at his pretend watch as Sam shook his head waiting for Dean to motion which direction to go.  With a nod towards the stones, Sam walked through the rows to see Beth standing beside the Peterson family stone. He stepped up next to her and looked for a moment.  

Peterson was along the top, a few strange runes were etched into the marble and below it were a list of names.

“Paul Harris     June 5, 1954 – April 12, 2001

Kristen Joy       May 21, 1953 – November 25, 1988

Paul John         February 4, 1978 – November 25, 1988

Serena Anne   February 23, 1979 – April 12, 2001

Elizabeth Marie    October 21, 1982 – “

“Paul John was your brother?”  Sam questioned. Beth nodded and wiped her eyes.

“You never met him, or at least, that I know of.  Dean would have met him a few times, they were a year apart in age.  He died when I was four at the age of ten.”

“So the Dryad?”  Sam whispered.

“He looks like my brother did the night he died, spitting image of him.”  Beth smiled and looked down at the stone. “You know, him and Mom are the only two under there.”

“You never told me you had a brother.”  Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, but all Beth did was shrug.

“I guess I blamed myself for his death.  He had unbuckled his seatbelt to get my doll from the floor of the car when a truck hit Dad’s side.  He wasn’t able to fasten it again in time. My mom wasn’t buckled either, apparently she had taken it off for some reason.  They were thrown from the car.”

“You read the report didn’t you?” Beth nodded again.  “Why would you do that to yourself, you were four? It wasn’t your fault, Beth.”

“Closure maybe.”  She kissed her fingers and pressed them against the hard stone where Paul John’s name was then stepped back.  Turning, she took Sam’s hand and the two of them walked back to the car, where Dean was waiting. When they stopped, she looked at both of them and smiled.  “Sam, I’m sorry I didn’t wake you when we left, I just needed some time up here alone, but I want to tell you both something. I’m bringing back the Black Pearl.”

“You’re returning your horses?”  Dean questioned.

“And taking a trip.  So the reason I’m asking is I want to know if you want to go with me.”  She glanced between them again and waited. “I have to bring her back to the rental company and then I need a ride to storage in Connecticut to get the Fox out of her box, I hate not having my own car.”

“I can relate,” Dean said and gently stroked the panel of the car, which got an eye-roll from Beth.  “I don’t mind driving you down. I think we could all use a break from the madness up here.”

“Maybe a case of something not Olympian related along the way?”  Sam added.

“I could use a good vampire hunt,” Beth sighed, stretching, which made Dean laugh.

“They’d have to be midgets, how else would you reach their heads to chop them off?”  Beth looked at him, straight faced and then looked down and took a fake jab at his stomach, which Dean hunched over to protect.  

“How’s that?”  She questioned wrapping her arm around his neck to get him in a choke hold.  Dean grabbed her under her knees and picked her up off the ground.

“Guys, we’re in a cemetery, have some respect.”  Sam laughed and Dean turned, Beth in his arms and suddenly let her go.  Like a cat, she landed on her feet and they both looked at him innocently.  “Let’s go, you can do that at home.”

Beth let Sam drive her back in the Mustang while Dean followed closely with the Impala.  She turned in her seat to look out the back window at him. 

“He does realize I have to return this in one piece right?”  Sam smiled and glanced up at the car in the rear view.

“Yeah, he just wants to make sure he doesn’t lose you again.”

“But you’re driving.”  She sighed and sat back down. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand the way that man thinks.”

“When do you want to leave?”  Sam questioned, reaching down to take her hand.

“Tomorrow. I have to close up the bunker in order to leave, unless I can get Becca to stay, which she won’t do because she hates that place at night, it gives her the “willies”.” Beth laughed.

“So today we relax?”  

“I’m thinking  a family cookout,” she answered and watched Sam nod.  “But you two can go to the store after Becca arrives because I’m good with grocery stores for now.”

Sam gave her a wide grin.  “Fair enough.”

 

Beth sat out in one of the lawn chairs, fingers folded behind her head, a cooler of bottled water beside her, watching the two men in the field try to out maneuver each other.  She glanced back as she heard the door to the Grand Am close and Becca walked over to grab the spectator seat beside her. 

“I see why you called and told me to get the lead in it.”  Becca laughed.

“Yep, there’s nothing like watching two shirtless brothers spar in the middle of an open field.”  Beth smiled and then winced as Sam flipped Dean over his shoulder. “Of course this might mean I have to give Castiel a call later to have him pop in and get rid of the damage.”

Becca laughed.  “I’d love me some Angel magic right now.”  Beth turned in her seat and looked at her. “What?”

“Cas? Really?”  She questioned and turned back to watch the brothers.

“What?  I’m not the one pining for two brothers right now.”  Beth gave her a wide grin and shrugged. “Not that I’m complaining at all about the view.”

“Amen to that.”  She handed Becca a water and sat back again in the chair as the two men swung out their aggressions.  “We’re leaving tomorrow, just for a few days. I have to get my car but I know you don’t want to stay here so I’m going to shut it down until we get back.  You’ll have the keys of course.”

“Of course.”  Becca smiled. “Are you getting spoiled by your new toy?”

“No, I just miss the Fox, she kind of reminds me of history, you know, the family business.”  Beth shrugged. “I brought Sam up to the cemetery this morning.”

“I figured you would have, he needed to know about Paul John.”  

“Dean just took it with a grain of salt.”

“Because Dean knew him, even if it was for just a few times, Sam doesn’t remember that.”  Beth took a sip of the water and placed it down on the cooler. “What’s really bothering you?”

“Sam told me he loved me last night and asked me if I wanted to leave the business to start a family.”  Beth smiled and watched as Becca nodded. 

“Would you?” Beth looked down at the grass for a moment but didn’t answer.   “You know just because you’ve been doing things for so long doesn’t mean they stay that way forever.  You could have that family with them, hell with both of them, all you have to do is want it bad enough to stop hunting.”

“I couldn’t start anything unless this was done.  I don’t want Olympians or anything else coming after my children.  I don’t want our kids growing up like we did, without parents.”

“Beth, look, things aren’t going to change unless you start the ball rolling on changing them.”  Beth nodded in agreement and watched as Sam and Dean both walked towards them. “My Heavens, they do look like Gods.”

“Don’t tell them that, you’ll inflate their egos.”  Beth laughed and handed them each a bottle. Sam leaned down and kissed Beth quickly on the lips before he grabbed the towel behind her to dry off, and she looked up at Dean who winked down at her.  “You guys need to step up your game. I’ve seen some pretty flabby moves out there.”

“Flabby, huh?”  Sam asked and glanced over to Dean before cocking his head at her.  “Wanna give it a go?”

“You really think you can take me on, Sammy?”  She mocked and stood up. Becca laughed at the scene as Sam backed up into the field and Beth stopped to glance up at Dean before she gave him one hard slap across the bottom.

“Ooh, Sam I think you’re in trouble.  She’s got some feistiness in her this morning.”  Dean laughed and sat down besides Becca, pulling on a tee-shirt.  He looked like he was about to watch a prize fight going on as he sat forward in the chair, elbows to his knees and rubbed his hands together.  “This ought to be good.”

“Who are you betting for?”  Becca questioned. 

“Oh just wait and see, she’s got this in the bag, hands down.”  Dean grinned.

 

Sam stood looking down at the foot difference in height and he shook his head as she stripped off her shirt down to the sports bra she was wearing.

“Okay, a distraction tactic is not allowed.”  Sam smiled and watched as she danced around on her small feet.

“What distraction?”  She grinned and watched him take his stance.  “You ready, baby-face.”

“If I win, you promise never to call me that again.”  Beth thought about his proposal and nodded slightly.

“GO ALREADY!”  Dean’s voice yelled from the distance.

“You heard the man.”  Sam stated raising his eyebrows.  

Beth didn’t wait a second more, she moved and swerved around him so fast that Sam’s swings never touched home. Her foot kicked out, clipping his knee from behind, sending him off balance and with that she came around, springing up and sending him falling backwards to the ground.  She straddled him as she came to rest on his stomach, hearing Dean roaring in the background and with both hands placed by his head, she leaned down close to his face.

“That was way too easy, Winchester.”  She spoke softly. She felt him grab her by the waist, his large hands virtually spanning the whole width of her ribs and suddenly she was under him.

“I think I agree with you on that one.”  Beth smiled as he pushed his pelvis up against her and she let out a quick breath.  “The grass here is so tall, we could do this and be done before they ever knew what happen.”

“I’d rather wait for sunset.”  She smiled, knocking out his right elbow, sending him landing just to her side where she slipped around him, grabbed his wrist and kinked his arm up behind him.  She leaned down close to his ear and blew gently into it.

“Oh my God, Beth!”  He growled, moving his hips uncomfortably.  “You suck.”

“Not yet, baby-face.”  She stood up, releasing him and looked over at Dean, who was standing with his arms raised, oblivious to the conversation on the ground.  Sam decided her tactics were a perfect comeback and brought her down by taking out her knee. Sam crawled over on top of her once more and, tucking his elbows into the bend of each knee, and had her pinned completely under his weight.

“You were celebrating?”  Beth smiled and bucked her hips up against him.  “So not fair.”

“We could go on like this all day, Sam.”  She laughed and felt him release her legs. 

With a free hand, he cupped her behind the head and brought her to his lips, letting his passion take over, telling her just what he wanted before he backed away, droopy eyed with lust.  Beth let her hands run over the sweat-soaked skin of the man above her and smiled. 

Sam gave a low growl in his throat and rolled off of her.  He knew that Dean would be on his way to check on her and he really wasn’t ready to be found in that position with her, but the want in his blood for her was hot, so hot that he wanted to spend every moment of his life in her arms.

“Sam,” she whispered rolling over, her breath was so close to his ear that it gave him goose bumps.  “I’ve fallen in love with you.”

He turned his head towards her.  He knew she was in love with Dean, he could feel it every time he connected with her, but the burn that he felt when they were together made him never doubt her feelings for him, these words just solidified them.

“I’m in love with you too.”  He answered, which made her smile, but the conflict of the trio made him wonder just what was going to happen with this triangle.  He pulled her close, letting her rest her head against his bare chest and ran a hand through her hair as she listened to the quickened beat of his heart.

 

Beth was content to lay in the grass, feeling as close to Sam as she could out in the middle of the day and in a large field.  As she felt herself begin to relax, a strange sense of being watched rushed over her and she picked her head up. Sam noticed her sit up, as the grass around them began to sway.  He could feel her sudden anxiety and propped himself up on his elbows.

“What’s going on, Beth?”  Sam whispered but she continued to scan the area with her eyes as she stood.  A large gust of wind flowed over the field, pushing the grass like a wave and when it hit her, she was breathless.  “Beth?”

_ You need not worry, North Wind.  _ A voice echoed in her head and Sam placed his hand against his temple, feeling the power.   Beth stood frozen as the pollen that the wind picked up formed the outline of a figure, moving with the breeze.   _ Rest for now, North Wind, but take heed, there is something frightful after thee.  Your protectors have the strength and you have the means but be weary friend, this is far, far from the end. _

Beth watched as the wind died down and the figure disappeared from her view.  She looked over at Dean, who stood in place and then down at Sam whose eyes were full of pain.  This couldn’t be good at all.

  
  



	8. All-American Nine Tails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Racing off to collect Beth's Mustang, the boys find out just a little bit more of their wayward hunter's past, which seems to include the invasion of not in the realm of Greek mythology.

All-American Nine-tails?

SPNFanfic  #8

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

Beth shifted through the gears, flying through the curves as the red lights of the Impala came closer and she felt the Bluetooth vibrate against her ear.  Shifting once more before she pressed the answer button, she smiled.

“Peterson!”  She shouted over the music that blared through the speakers.

_ “Beth, turn the music down,” _  Sam yelled through the phone.  She smiled and turned the speakers down just a little bit.

_ “Jesus, woman, you’re giving me a headache _ !”  Dean yelled at the phone.  She could tell that Sam had his cell on speaker.  She reached down and cranked the volume higher, getting a few more swears from him before she turned it down completely.  _ “What are you listening too? _

“It’s a cover of “Shout” by Disturbed.  Don’t diss my music, Dean!” She laughed, and shifted through another curve.

_ “Beth, you have to back off,” _  Dean growled.

“I’m not that close to your ass, Dean, relax.”  Beth watched as he brake-checked her just to see her reaction speed and was amazed at how she handled the power around her.  “Not funny, dick!”

_ “I wasn’t trying to be funny, I was trying to give you a warning, don’t get that close to my car!” _  She could hear Sam switch the phone off of speaker.

_ “Beth, you’re scaring him,” _  Sam said softly into the phone, trying to make it so Dean couldn’t hear him.

“It’s just driving, Sam,” she answered, watching the road ahead of her but slowly letting off the gas and downshifting, feeling the engine ease.  “Better?”

_ “Yeah, his face isn’t as white anymore.” _  There was a smile in Sam’s voice as he answered which gave Beth some relief.  

“When I get my car back, I am taking off on a nice night and the Fox and I are just going to drive as far as we can and then come back.”  She sighed. “Why did you drive with him anyway?”

_ “Because, honestly, your driving scares me too,” _ Sam laughed.  

“YOU suck,” she answered and hung up the phone. She turned up the music and stepped on the gas as they hit a straight-away, with a quick flash of her lights, she was up and around the Impala before Dean could keep up.

 

“That woman is going to give me a heart attack.”  Dean exhaled and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Right now she’s just giving me a big pain in my ass, and I don’t know if that’s worse.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with her,” Sam agreed and looked over at Dean, “can I tell you something?”

“If it’s about your sex life, I don’t want to hear about it.”  The older brother answered, which got Sam smiling.

“I know she told you how she felt.”  Sam watched his brother’s lips tighten and he glanced at him from the corner of his eye.  “She also said that she was in love with me too.”

“Where’s this going Sam?”  Dean questioned. Sam knew this line of discussion was not Dean’s cup of tea but he had to let him know what was on his mind.  

“That’s just it, I don’t know where any of this is going,” Dean watched the road, he had been hoping Sam had some secret insight into the woman they were both in love with.  “All I know is how she feels, because I can feel it, I mean really feel it. When she’s not in the same room as the two of us her feelings are completely clear, but when the three of us are together, the power is trippy.”

“How come you can feel it?”  Dean looked at him quickly, with a bit of jealousy in his voice.  

“I don’t have a clue.”  Sam knew it was frustrating for Dean.  “Maybe if you opened up a little more.”

“Opened up, like confessing my undying love in some cheesy poem?”  Sam couldn’t help but smile at that one. 

“How about just admitting that you’re scared?”  Sam suggested. “Because I know she is.”

“What is she feeling right now?”  Dean whispered. Sam smiled, knowing he was truly interested.  

Sam took a deep breath and concentrated on the waves of energy that flowed into him.  “She’s on an adrenaline high from that car, the rush of the road is addicting to her. She’s thinking of you, and she’s kind of upset that she made you mad.  Her heart just started racing and I can feel her smiling, something you did is making her, not nervous but…” Sam stopped for a minute and Dean glanced over at the confusion on his brother’s face.  “Oh.”

“What do you mean “Oh”? What’s going on?”  

Sam’s face flushed as he put his hand up to his mouth and smiled.  “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that right now.”

“Okay, spill it, Sammy, you can’t just leave it at “oh”.”  Dean was genuinely curious. 

“She’s, ah, fantasizing about us…” Sam licked his lips and the smile that’s crossed his face reached his eyes. “All of us.”

“What?”  Dean suddenly turned back to look out at the road ahead of them. “Doing what?”

“All of us…together.”  Sam laughed as Dean’s face went blank, but he could see the spark in his brother’s eyes.  

“Oh.”  Dean replied and changed positions in the seat.  “Maybe we shouldn’t go digging in her feelings right now.”

“Yeah, I agree.”  Sam said, a little embarrassed and got as comfortable as he could while looking out the window, still smiling.

 

Beth stepped out of the rental car place, one hand in her pocket, her sunglasses on and a sly grin on her face that only turned up one corner, making it look as if she had just pulled off the biggest heist in history.  Dean only saw one thing, the most beautiful woman in the world in his eyes, was walking towards him as he rested against the hood of the Impala, with his arms crossed and his eyes full of wonder as she came closer. 

Sam was sitting in the car, not that he didn’t want to get out, but he seemed to be picking up on Dean’s emotions as well and between the two, the attraction was almost unbearable.  Sam had to agree that he couldn’t take his eyes off of her but there was something else about feeling his brother’s lust that made it more intense. 

With a sigh, he watched Beth stop right in front of Dean, he couldn’t see his brother’s face but he could see hers, at least her mouth and watching it go full smile made the warmth creep up on him.  She reached out and grabbed Dean’s shirt with both hands and as she talked to him, gave it gentle tugs before her eyebrows went up, just above the top line of the glasses. 

He didn’t know what they were talking about but he could feel Beth and knew she was watching him.  “ _ Hey, get out of my head, Sammy.” _

“I can’t help it.”  He spoke out loud, not that she could hear verbally him since the windows were up and the car was running.  “Do you feel Dean?”

_ “Yeah, and I feel you too, what’s up with the two of you and this overly lusty look you have?” _   She questioned as she carried on the conversation with Dean like holding two conversations at the same time was a normal thing for her.

“I kind of invaded a little earlier.”

_ “Invaded how?” _  She stopped speaking to Dean and turned her head to look at him.  _ “What did you see?” _

“Felt was more like it, like all three of us were together, like you wanted all three of us together.”  Sam watched her step away from Dean, who turned and looked confused at the abrupt way she left and Sam suddenly found his car door wide open.

“Out!”  She ordered and watched as the younger one slid out and walked past her to lean against the car next to Dean.  She took off her glasses and shook her head. “I think we have an issue here, gentlemen.”

“Issue?”  Dean questioned.

“I told her about earlier.”  Dean turned and looked at him as if he were crazy before turning back to Beth and giving his best “forgive me” grin, before backhanding Sam in the gut.

“Why?”  Dean mumbled, as if it would be any secret that he had said it.  

“It doesn’t matter.”  Beth spoke up, and the conversation was instantly silenced.  “I didn’t call you out to yell at you, Sam, I really don’t care if my fantasies excite you or not because they are just that.  What I wanted to tell you both at the same time was those weren’t my thoughts.”

“What?”  Sam whispered, taking her hand, “but it came from you.”

“I know, I know,” she stated, trying to calm his doubts, “I guess that came out wrong.  When that thought arrived in my head, I was sensing the two of you, and from each one of you I got the same thing, us…together.”

“Okay, wait, I wasn’t thinking about that at all,” Dean confessed.  Sam looked over at him and then back at Beth.

“I was concentrating on you.”   He stopped and thought about what she had said for a moment.  “Someone put that thought in all of our heads? At the same time?”

“Yeah, I think so.”  Beth sighed. She glanced around at the area and for a second felt a slight shiver pass through her.  “We need to leave now.”

“I’m not going to argue with you.”  Dean said and headed for the driver’s side.  Sam glanced at Beth, placed a hand on the small of her back and they made their way to the side of the car.  Once she was securely in the back seat, he slid in and Dean took off from the parking lot.

 

Dean looked back through the mirror at Beth, who had been asleep for more than twenty-minutes and then glanced over at his brother, who was staring out the windshield.

“Are you in her head?”  Dean questioned, it was soft, barely loud enough for Sam to hear it but he shook his head anyway.  “Then what’s going on? You’re never this quiet.”

“I was thinking about what she said, that we all had the same thought at the same time.”  Sam turned to look at Dean. “I don’t remember even thinking that.”

“Me either, which is why we hauled ass.  Something back there was invading our thoughts.” Dean shrugged.  “It’s happened before.”

“But why that thought?”  Dean gave him a sly grin and Sam shook his head.

“Oh, come on, you can’t say you haven’t thought of that, or at least something along the lines of that fantasy, Sam.”  Dean watched his cheeks pink up and he laughed. “See I knew I wasn’t the only perv in this family.”

“Okay, so say this thing uses our fantasies, for what purpose?”  Sam waited for him to think about it and Dean shook his head.

“Because of Hera’s rules.” Dean watched as his brother raised an eyebrow.  “There must be something in the power that she has where if it’s not only you, something happens.”

“Everything has been pushing it in that direction Dean, think about.”  Sam glanced over at Beth to make sure the music was on, her earbuds were in, and that she couldn’t hear their discussion.  “The Harpies, they hyped you up so badly that you needed her, you wanted to be with her.” Dean kind of shrugged. “Since the night of the Gorgon attack, have you been having nightmares?”

“No, they stopped,” Dean replied and was going to continue until he realize that Sam had made a valid point. “What else?”

“Phantasos had her in a dream state where you and I were part of her family, and I don’t mean you were her brother-in-law, Dean, you were her other husband.” Dean’s eyes grew wide and he looked over at Sam.

“She didn’t tell me that.”  Sam ran a hand through his hair.  “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Because, she loves you and her first thought when it came up was that she didn’t want you to get your hopes up that it would happen.”  Dean nodded. “It’s not that she doesn’t want you, but…”

“You know how weird it is hearing that from the guy she’s actually sleeping with?”  Dean’s voice was annoyed but not as much as usual, as if the topic of conversation just became the norm between them.

“I know, but right now, I’m just stating facts.”  Sam tried to justify why it shouldn’t upset him, when clearly it was upsetting to talk about it.  “So this one, the last one, a threesome? Someone really wants to push her into breaking that one rule.  There has to be a reason for it.”

“You know,” Dean’s face turned up in a grin, “I never thought of it this way, but being off-limits kind of has a certain naughtiness to it.”  Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve never really been turned down before, definitely never been told “don’t touch” by a Goddess.”

“Okay, Dean, really?”  Sam turned to his brother and gave him a “give me a break” look.  “This is Beth’s life we’re talking about. One slip up and we don’t know what happens, we have to make sure that if anything goes on between you two, it never gets to that point.”

“Are you giving me permission?”  Dean cracked a smile which made Sam just stare at him.

“Dean.”  Sam stated, just not wanting to answer the question.

“I’m just saying, if I want to kiss her, I’m going to.”  He replied and watched as Sam licked his lips, but there was no jealousy in his face, no anger in his eyes and that made Dean want to try just a little more.  “Okay, this is too weird. I would have expected you to punch me by now. Aren’t you the least bit protective of your girl?”

“Our girl?”  Sam replied, looking at him.

“You’ve really accepted this, haven’t you?”  Sam gave him a shrug and tried to come up with the words.  “Man, I’d be all over you if she were mine.”

“But she’s not, Dean, that’s what I’m trying to explain, she’s not just mine.”  Sam exhaled loudly and Dean watched him turn to the window, he could see the frustration in his face.  “I wish you could feel her like I do, it would be so much easier to explain what’s going on.”

“Why do you get all the cool abilities?” Dean pouted.

“Because you’re Achilles, the greatest warrior in the history of the Olympians.”  Sam shrugged. “You have your own abilities. Trust me, demon blood, premonitions, the ability to exorcise them back to hell, not my favorite time in life.  This…this I can live with.”

“You never had the Mark of Cain.”  Dean laughed. “That was a bitch.”

“But you made it through it because you’re a warrior.  Hell, the apocalypse, Purgatory, the end of the world, Dean, that was all you and your “abilities”, don’t sell yourself short.”  Sam encouraged. Dean nodded and glanced in the rearview at the Beth, who was sitting upright with blazing blue eyes. It startled Dean, who swerved but pulled the Impala safely to the side of the road.  Both of them turned in their seats to look at the woman who stared at them.

“Hera?”  Dean questioned.  

“She is growing stronger, I can feel it.”  The tone of Beth’s voice changed as the woman inside her spoke.  “You must be cautious, protectors, there is a wave coming, something you have not seen before.  Olympians are out in full force searching for the North Wind and you must be ever vigilant. Don’t let her go alone, one of you must be with her at all times.”

“We have questions about the sex part.”  Dean spoke up which got a slap from Sam across the seat.  

“Her power comes from the love of you both, and her love for you but should she cross that line, she will be vulnerable to the Gods around you.  Her mark will be destroyed and you will open her up to a whole new kind of evil.” Hera explained and watched as the two brothers looked at each other.  “Ares has been turned against us, he is the key to the war but you hold the ultimate weapon. Let no harm come to her, should she fall the Titans will be released from Tartarus.”

Beth lay back down across the back seat and they watched as her eyes faded back to the light blue before she closed them once again.

Dean turned in his seat and shook his head.  “We need to get a possession alarm or something.  I’m getting tired of these guys just popping in like that and scaring the hell out of me.”

Sam smiled but kept his eyes on Beth.  “She didn’t even know Hera was there this time.”

“What is she feeling now?”  Dean questioned and watched as Sam gave him a look.  “You’re not invading this time, you’re just checking to see if she’s okay.”

“She’s fine, like I said, she didn’t even know that she was in there.”  Sam turned back in his seat. “You know what else, I didn’t know she was in there either.”

“So you can’t feel when Hera takes her over?” 

Sam gave him a frown and shook his head.  “It’s like she blocks Beth from me.”

“Did Beth tell you where she stored her car?”  Dean questioned, changing the subject as he glanced at the woman in the back seat.

“Stafford Springs, Connecticut.”  Sam read off the paper. “About a half-hour south of where we first picked her up.”

“Probably the best thing we ever did.”  Dean whispered and stared out the window, thinking about what Hera had said.  Not only was he off-limits, her being with him could bring on something more evil than they had ever seen.  That was perfect, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t steal that kiss he had been wanting for days. He peeked over at Sam.  He also wanted to see how his brother really would react to the situation. “Alright, Stafford Springs here we come.”

 

Stafford Springs, Connecticut.

 

Dean rolled the Impala up to the closest pump and stepped out, both Sam and Beth were asleep and never even noticed the car stop, or the engine shut off.  Dean wished he had that luxury right then. He had been feeling Beth’s odd dreams for hours and as much fun it was to get an insight into what her unconscious mind wanted, he couldn’t help the strangeness of feeling like he was invading her privacy. 

Dean watched the small sports car pull up behind him and a tall, leggy blond step out.  She smiled at him, and winked as she began to pump the gas into her car. He watched her pop the hood and wave away the smoke that came from it.  Dean placed the nozzle back on the hook and walked over to assist the damsel in distress.

“Looks like you’re leaking coolant,” he spoke up and watched as she stood.

“Yeah, it’s been doing that a lot lately.” She shrugged, shaking her head.  “I can’t figure out what’s going on.”

“Do you mind?”  Dean smiled as she gestured for him to go ahead.  He used his shirt to grasp the radiator cap, which surprisingly wasn’t very warm, and twisted it off.  The smoke bellowed from the open spot and he inspected it carefully before showing her. “Looks like you need a new cap.”  He stepped closer to her to let her see what he was looking at. “The rubber is gone on this one, so you’re not getting a nice, tight seal.”

“Really, that’s all that it is?”  

Dean shrugged.  “It could be something more, but this looks like it would be an initial problem, especially since this is where most of your smoke is coming from.  It’s bubbling over here instead of into the overflow.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” she said and hugged him quickly.  Dean moved the cap out of the way and felt the woman press against him. When she backed away, Dean was able to put it back on and wiped his hand on his shirt.  “My name is Clara, I work over at the bank in town, but I live out on Miles Road.”

“Dean,” he introduced himself, “and you said Miles Road? That’s where we’re headed.  My brother’s girlfriend has a place out there.” Dean gave his best smile. “Maybe I can stop by and help you out with the radiator when you get home from work.”  He wrote down his cell number and handed it to her. “Drive safe, but not too far until we can change that out.”

“I’ll call you after work, definitely.”  She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.  “Thank you again, Dean.” 

He watched as she hopped off into the store, leaving him there grinning like a kid in a candy shoppe.

Dean licked his lips and got back into the Impala, glancing over at the two bodies oblivious to what had just happened.

 

Sam watched as they pulled into the driveway of a two-story, rustic looking house with a small porch and a tire swing.  Beth was sitting up, finally awake and almost completely over the seat to see the house as they approached. In the driveway, just ahead was a single garage and she barely waited for Dean to put the Impala in park before she was out and up to the door.

“I think she’s more obsessed with her car than you are with yours.” Sam laughed as the two of them got out and watched her disappear into the small garage.  The heard the engine fire up and the small fox-bodied Ford backed out slowly from the shadows. “Yep, totally obsessed.”

“Where are we?”  Dean questioned, looking at the house.  The engine cut from the car and Beth walked over, with a huge smile on her face.

“It used to belong to my grandfather.”  She grinned, looking up at the house. “When he passed away, it all came to me.  You know that whole last of the line thing. Come on, I’ll take you inside.”

“So how did you get the car here?”  Dean’s curiosity made Beth’s smile widen.

“Connections.”  She winked and unlocked the door, giving it a push as she offered the boys to enter first.  Both shook their head. Smart cookies! 

Beth stepped over the line of salt that brushed up against the doorjamb and entered the house.  Dean whistled as he followed, looking at the hunting trophies that lined the walls. Sam was a bit creeped out by the décor in the house but it looked pretty safe.  He could see the Devil’s trap that peeked out from under the runner just inside of the front door and Beth flipped on the lights in the living room. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere as she set her bag down on the couch.

“When was the last time you were here?”  Sam questioned. 

Beth stopped and thought for a moment.  “About two months ago, maybe more. Someone comes in and cleans it once a week, and lets me know if there is anything that needs to be repaired.”

“You have a maid?”  Dean questioned as he was about to run up the stairs.  She smiled up at him and shook her head.

“She comes here because she loves my family, and I pay her a pretty penny to ignore all of the occult stuff in the office.”

Dean thought about it for a moment, gave a small nod and then disappeared up the stairs. Beth turned to Sam and shrugged as Sam grinned at his brother’s exit.  She walked over to where he stood in front of the fireplace, grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a soft kiss. She held his lips, waiting until she felt his arms wrap around her before pulling her mouth away. 

“What happened in the car?”  She whispered against him as she looked up into his eyes.  Sam exhaled slowly, letting her feel the warmth of his breath against her lips while she shook in his arms.  “Not funny, Slick.”

“Hera came through you,” he whispered and watched as she nodded, “and basically told us that we really needed to keep an eye on you, so I guess you’re getting a constant companion.”

“So either you or Dean will be on my tail, twenty-four/seven?”

“You could put it that way.”  Sam grinned and Beth had gotten really good at reading his expressions.  

“What the hell else did the two of you talk about when I was asleep?”  She backed away as he tried to steal a quick kiss to change the subject.  “Sam?”

“The whole threesome thing came up again.”  He mumbled, still a little embarrassed to be bringing it up.  Beth’s aggravation shined in her eyes. “Don’t get all upset, we figured it out. Hera said the reason it’s only me is because if you’re with anyone else, the ward will disappear and you are open to anything, including breaking the locks on Tartarus.”

“And unleashing the Titans.”  Beth sighed. “Perfect.” Sam’s arms wrapped tighter, pulling her towards him as his index finger ran over the sensitive spot on the back of her neck.  Beth closed her eyes as she began to enjoy the teasing he was doing. “So sex with Dean, or anyone else but you is a no-no, got it.” 

“You wanted to be with him?”  Sam laughed as she leaned her head back and his fingers spanned across the back of her neck, hitting every spot that sent her nerves on end.

“No, I just wonder how Mr. Sex Drive is handling it.”  Sam leaned down and placed his lips against her neck, forcing her to close her eyes.  Dean cleared his throat, and her lids fluttered open just a bit as she turned her head, letting him see the tiniest bit of blue.  She whispered to Sam, “we have company.”

“Mr. Sex Drive?”  Dean laughed as he leaned against the door.  “I guess you two have never been on this side of the view before.”  She expected more than just a laugh from him as he sat down in the chair across from them, and watched.  

A strange feeling washed over Beth as soon as he began to stare and she pushed Sam away.  His blue-green eyes looked at her in confusion, but she raised one hand to have him stay still and the other she pressed to her lips.  Dean stood, shaken from the spell he had been under and realized that he was just about to have a ringside seat to Beth and Sam’s little tryst.

Both brothers stared as she moved towards the window and looked out on the porch. Pulling her cellphone out of her pocket, she snapped a picture, sent it to Becca with a swipe of her thumb and took a pocket knife from her jeans.

“You carry a knife on you?”  Dean questioned.

“Like you don’t.”  She smiled, watched as he rolled his eyes and flashed the nylon holder attached to his belt.  The phone vibrated in her hand and quickly she ran out the door. Sam and Dean followed, and observed in silence as she scratched the rune from the inside of the railing.

“How the hell did she know that was there?”  

“North Wind intuition I guess.”  Sam shrugged and watched as she carved something else on the top of the rail, recited what was spelled out on her phone and jabbed the end of the blade as hard as she could into the center of the new symbol.  Sam and Dean both felt the rush of wind pass through them as she turned to come inside. “What the hell was that?”

“A Greek ward against magic,” she replied and shrugged, going past them into the kitchen. Sam was always irritated when she brushed him off that easily. He followed her in as Dean went outside and took his time inspecting the carving under her blade.

“Really, that’s all you’re going to say about it?”  Sam questioned. Beth glanced up from the two open slices of bread she had out on a plate and smiled.

“The side effects of it are nausea, constipation and being an asshole. Just so you’re aware when you find yourself being one.”  She snapped in reply, while continuing to make her sandwich. Dean walked in and stood there watching the spat between them, something rarely seen.  “Were you really just going to stand there and have whatever way you wanted with me while your brother watched?”

“Is that what this is all about?”  Sam growled. Dean knew there was something wrong and grabbed Beth’s phone.

“What the hell, Dean?”  Beth questioned and watched him hold up a finger, while he stole a piece of her sandwich.  He scrolled through the recent call log and hit a button, placed it on speaker and then set it down on the counter, while he took a bite.

_ “Was texting too hard?” _  Becca laughed on the other end.

“Bec, whatever you had Beth draw outside is making the lovers pissy at each other.”  Dean spoke up as he finished what was in his mouth.

_ “Sorry, I didn’t have time to explain,” _ she answered and listened to the silence.   _ “The symbol  you sent me wasn’t Greek in origin, it was Japanese, the rune I had you counter it with was, since that’s where your power comes from now.  The problem with that is mixing magic can make you a little itchy under the collar.” _

“So basically they are going to be like a grumpy married couple?”  Dean smiled at the two of them and Sam rolled his eyes. 

_ “For a little bit until the other magic dissipates.” _  Becca sighed.   _ “Try to keep your head guys.  The three of you in a house that was charmed isn’t going to be easy but stick together.” _

“Why wasn’t Dean affected by it?”  Beth questioned.

_ “Were you kissing him too when you felt it?” _ Beth rolled her eyes, not that the woman on the phone could see it.  _ “I’ll take the silence as a “no”.  The charm is for some pretty hot and heavy romance, the counter is just that, the opposite. So if Dean wasn’t the last one touching you, he’s off the hook.” _

“It’s about time, I usually get blamed for everything.” Dean mumbled and watched as Sam raised a brow at him.  “What? It’s true.”

_ “It shouldn’t be more than an hour or so, go make your beds or something.” _  Becca laughed.   _ “Beth, go fix the taillight on the Fox, you said it needed it, but stay out of each other’s way, just for a little while.” _

“Fine.”  Sam mumbled and walked out of the room.  Beth watched him grab his bag and head upstairs.

“Thanks, Becca.”  Beth took a deep breath and swatted at Dean’s hand for trying to take another piece of her food. “Stay safe.”

_ “You too, and Dean, I wouldn’t try anything with Sam in that kind of mood, so keep your paws to yourself.” _  Becca warned and suddenly the phone went dead.  Dean smiled, sticking another piece in his mouth as Beth shook her head, sliding the rest of the plate over to him. 

“I need to go into town.”  Beth stated, grabbing the keys to the Impala as Dean quickly snatched the rest of the sandwich off the plate and followed her.  “Sam, I’m going into town.”

Dean noticed she didn’t bother to wait for an answer and he shrugged up at his brother, who stood at the top of the stairway.

 

The AutoX store wasn’t more than a ten-minutes up the road but Dean found himself in awe of how she maneuvered through it, picking up the five-quart container of oil and the correct filter for an oil change.  She filled the basket with everything she needed for a tune-up, air and fuel filters, spark plugs and wires, point set, distributor cap, ignition rotor and the PCV valve. When she got to the counter, she greeted the man there as if he were an old friend and they started talking about the car, what condition it was in and how many miles it had, but when she suddenly stood up straight, Dean found himself standing at full attention. 

She paid for the supplies and the two of them headed out towards the car.  Once the bags were neatly set on the floor of the back seat in the Impala, Beth stood and looked across the hood at Dean. She kept her face towards him but her eyes shifted from one corner of the lot to the other.  Three stores occupied the area besides the AutoX and finally her sights settled on the car just opposite of them, in front of the SubStation.

“What is it?”  Beth shook her head at Dean’s question.

“A feeling of evil, like something is stalking us.  I think I felt it when we dropped off the 2014.” She sighed and tapped on the roof of the car.  “I can’t shake it, but I’m pretty sure it’s coming from that kid over there. The one staring at us.” Dean turned and glanced over at him.  He raised an eyebrow and suddenly found himself moving in that direction. “Dean!”

The kid started the engine but wasn’t fast enough to pull out before Dean stood in front of the car, with his hands on the hood.  The kid looked terrified, but more because of the anger on the face of the man who stood in front of him than anything else. Dean could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to.  As he stood there, Beth watched another car pull out of a different parking space, with an older man driving, evil emanating from him in waves. Beth stepped up to Dean and grabbed him by the arm.  Dean sneered at the kid as Beth pulled him away.

“So, it wasn’t the kid?”  Dean smiled as they walked back to the car, holding hands tightly.

“No, but I’m pretty sure you ruined the interior of that Camaro.”  Beth replied and let him walk her to the door, where he opened it for her, then closed it once she had gotten in.  Dean watched the kid skid out of the parking lot before he slid in behind the wheel of the car.

He turned to her as he started it up and listened to it purr, then with both hands on the wheel he peeked over at her.  “That was fun!”

“You’re such a child.”  She laughed and let him drive her back to the house.

 

Beth lay half under the front end of the Mustang, a folded piece of cardboard under her as she twisted the oil filter from its place.  Dean sat on the top of a small toolbox and watched her. He couldn’t see more than her legs, hips and where the shirt she was wearing lifted up across her stomach.  It was like the beach in New Hampshire all over again, but there was something more alluring about the fact that she was dirty from working on a car.

“Hey Al, who taught you this stuff?”  Dean questioned, holding the beer loosely with his fingers.  

“Dad, when he felt like it,” she yelled as she twisted one last time and shimmied out from under the front end, a streak of oil across her face as she reached for an already dirty rag.  “Guys along the way, mostly. I guess trial and error played into it too, had to figure out how to fix it on the fly.”

“You’re pretty good at it.”  He smiled and watched as she wiped her hands, then leaned over into the engine to get a better look at something. Dean couldn’t help but appreciate the dusty backside of her jeans, which she caught when she glanced over at him.  

“Something you need to tell me, Winchester?”

“All those waffles are going to your hips, Peterson,” he replied and laughed as the rag she was holding flew at his head.  Beth stood and walked over to stand in front of him. Dean’s face became serious as he looked up into her blue eyes. “I want to pull you down here and kiss you so badly, but it’s not the right time.”

“We talked about that, Dean.”

“And you said it was the only thing you could give me.”  He stood up, changing position so that she was now the one looking up.  “And I need it, I need you.”

“Give it a little bit.”  She grinned and tugged on the hem of his flannel shirt.  “Being out here has calmed my nerves, but I’m not all that positive that Sam won’t still knock you out for doing it.”

He gave her a twisted little grin, as if to say he would like to chance it but he put his hand gently on her hip and leaned down. “I love you, Kid,” he sighed, and kissed her on the forehead before walking over to the stairway, where he had set out a cooler, to grab another beer.  Beth picked up the rag, tucked it into the pocket of her jeans and slid back under the car with the new filter.

_ “Are we still fighting?” _ Sam questioned.

“Well, you’re in there and I’m out here, you tell me.”  She spoke softly but out loud.

_ “I’ve been afraid to come down because I’m not sure it’s gone.” _

“I can feel you, Sam.” She smiled as she grabbed the wrench from the ground.  “You feel fine to me.” With a quick twist, she slammed her fingers against the underside of the engine, slicing open her hand. “Shit!” 

“Are you okay?” Both Sam and Dean asked in unison, which was a very strange feeling as she slid out from under the car, wrapping the oily rag around her hand.  Dean squatted beside her as Sam came flying down the driveway.

“What happened?”  Sam questioned.

“It’s just a scratch, guys, I swear.”  She looked at both of them and stood.

She was a little annoyed that the two of them were yet again hovering as she stood by the sink and washed it out, but as she did, she could feel a strange tingle under her skin, just about the same time that she noticed Sam’s hand on the back of her neck.  Curiosity took over and she grinned at Dean.

“Touch me.”  She ordered, which got her a firm grasp of her backside, which made Sam laugh and raise his eyebrows.  “That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh,” he said and moved his hand to the small of her back, “sorry.”

“And why are we both touching you?”  Sam questioned, as Beth concentrated on the wound.  Dean’s mouth dropped in awe and the expression on Sam’s face was one of pure amazement as the gash in her hand started to close itself. Inside the muscles wove together and slowly the skin formed over it until there was nothing left but unbroken flesh.  “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Beth smiled, moving her hand around as she rinsed the blood from it.  “It doesn’t even hurt.”

“What just happened?” Dean questioned.  

“I’m guessing that the whole “we give her strength” thing that Hera was talking about includes the ability to heal when we’re close.”  Sam shrugged and watched her. Dean moved, studying her for a minute before he nonchalantly left the room. Beth smiled as she watched him go but turned back to Sam.  “So are we good?”

She placed her fingers against his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips.  “We’re good.” Sam was about to scoop her up in his arms when he noticed something on the wall.  “What’s that?”

Beth turned and looked through the doorway, at the symbol drawn on the side of the hearth.  “That little shit!” Beth growled and moved into the living room.

Dean grabbed her hand as she walked by from the chair he had occupied earlier and twirled her until she was sitting in his lap.  She could feel the emotions flowing from him as he stroked the edge of her jaw, looking lustfully into her eyes.

“Dean, you need to let go.”  She gave the order in a low voice but she could feel his heart pounding as she pressed on his chest.   _ “Sam!” _  She called to him and watched as the younger brother walked into the room.  “You have to get rid of it, just like the other one, and draw the rune.”

“I have nothing to draw with.”  He mumbled as he scratched out the Japanese symbol and then pricked his finger.  He used the dark red blood that bubbled on his finger to draw the rune and then stabbed it with his knife.  There was yet another blast of air and Dean looked awkwardly up at her.

“What was I just about to do?”  He looked very innocent as he practically picked her up from his lap and set her gently down on the coffee table in front of him.  “Was it that thing again?” Beth smiled, glancing up at Sam who was sucking on his finger, before she nodded. “I’m really starting to not like that…whatever it is.”

“I think we definitely need to figure this out. You two can’t keep going back and forth over me like that, especially if it’s going to just get stronger.”  Beth stood and looked down at Dean. “And you need to get yourself some pie.”

“Pie?”  Dean asked as she walked away.  He turned in the seat and looked over the top of the cushion.  “Last time you told me to get pie, I nearly got eaten by it!”

Beth smiled as he turned around in the seat and pouted.  She opened the cellar door and made her way down into the darkness, turning on the lights as she went.  Sam followed, and shook his head.

“What is it with you and basement bunkers?  Couldn’t you just keep your stuff in regular places like a normal person?  Say in a den, you’re grandfather has a pretty nice one.” Beth peered up at him from under her lashes as she sat down at the large wooden desk and pulled the keyboard out towards her.  

“IF I did that, then I would have to explain to the “maid” as Dean called her, about why there were a whole bunch of things about demonic possession, Angels and oh, yeah, the apocalypse all over the walls of my grandfather’s study.  She never comes down here.”

“Why?”  

“She’s afraid of basements which is why I built it here.”  Beth gave a Cheshire cat grin and went back to typing on the keyboard. “Wanna give this a go?  You look bored standing there.”

“You’re going to let me play with your toys?”  He smiled and walked over. Beth stood up and let him sit down at the computer.  “When did you upgrade this last? This is brand new technology.”

“Same time I was here last.”  She shrugged walking over to the rows of folding doors.  “I didn’t think I was going to get picked up by the two of you, so I had to make some place besides the bunker safe for me to live in for a while.”

They could hear Dean walking around upstairs and Sam stared up at the ceiling.  “What’s he doing?”

“Looking for food.”  Beth replied, sliding out drawers that were hidden behind the doors.  “I need another knife, mine’s stuck in the railing.”

Sam shook his head at her lack of concentration and flipped through the different applications that were on the computer until he found one that had to do with analyzing symbols.  He picked up a small stylus next to the mouse and placed the end of it on the soft pad. He was surprised to see the dot appear in the middle of the empty box but was like a kid in a candy store when he realized he could draw out the symbol.  

Hitting the search key, he watched as the one he drew moved to the left of the screen and a random image search began on the right. 

A loud bang above had them both staring up for a minute before the door opened and Dean yelled down. “Sorry, trying to make dinner!” 

“Wait, did he just say he was trying to cook?”  Beth questioned, and Sam watched as she made a mad dash towards the stairs.  Sam grinned and went back to watching the screen scroll through millions of images.

 

Beth stood in the middle of the kitchen as Dean hummed to himself, something she had never heard him do before, while mixing ingredients in the bowl in front of him.  He was so engrossed in the process that he didn’t see her walk up beside him, observing as he gently folded the flour into the liquid. 

“What exactly are you doing?”  She questioned, and watched as he jumped, the half cup of flour in his hand came down the front of her shirt and he splashed whatever was in the bowl onto himself.  She kept a straight face as he looked at her solemnly until that smile started to creep up on his lips. “Don’t you dare laugh, Dean Winchester!”

“I’m sorry.”  He mumbled, between soft chuckles, as he grabbed a towel and began to dust the flour from her chest.  Beth snatched the cloth away and did it herself as he found something else to clean up the rest of the mess with.  “I was trying to make some…some something. I was just following the directions.”

“Relax.”  She smiled as she used her finger to get the little bit that hung on his cheek.  Dean took her hand in his, and used it to pull her closer. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

“None of this is a good idea,” he wrapped his arms around her waist, as he bit on his lower lip, “but you know me, I’m the king of bad ones.”

Dean put his hand against the side of her face, tangling it in her hair as he pressed his lips to hers. It started off as a soft, sensual, lingering kiss, but the fire between them was just as combustible as between Sam and Beth and it flared quickly, leaving him wanting more as he slowly backed away.  He swallowed hard as he looked down at her. Beth stood with her eyes closed, for just a moment, catching her breath and with a glance under half-closed lids, she saw Sam standing in the basement doorway. Here was their moment of truth. Dean released her quickly and put his hands on his head, as if giving up.

“Sam,”  Dean whispered and watched as the younger brother looked back and forth between them.  He didn’t say anything, just watched for a minute. “Dammit, say something.”

“Can you feel that when Beth and I kiss?”  He questioned. Dean closed his eyes and squatted down to the floor, punch in the face averted and Beth turned fully to look at him.  “Ah, yeah.” 

Sam rubbed his neck as he tried not to smile before he walked out of the room, and up the stairs. Beth went to walk by, to follow but Dean grabbed her hand and stood. One last kiss was all he needed, but this one left them both breathless before she took off around the corner.  

 

Sam was walking back and forth across the bedroom when she stepped in and closed the door behind her.  “Don’t do that.” Sam said, hyper as he waved his finger at the closed door. “Beth, you have got to leave it open.”

“Why?” She whispered.  “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head.  “I can’t tell if I’m angry, or on an adrenaline rush or,” and she watched him stop with the most confused look on his face, “or turned on.”

She couldn’t help but burst out laughing as she opened the door slowly and watched him relax a little. “It’s pheromones, Sam.”

“I…it can’t…really?”  He sat down on the bed and shook his head, rubbing his hands on his legs.  “I just watched you kiss my own brother and I have a raging…”

“Ah, okay, no need to explain further.”  She felt like she was in a houseful of teenage boys.  “You’re not going to die from it.” With a breath, she sat down on the dresser and rubbed both hands down her face.  “Yes, that is what I feel when I kiss you, and Dean feels it a little bit less, which is why he needs to let the urges out once in awhile.  So, you’re not going to go after him, are you?”

“I don’t feel any jealousy, Beth, in fact the only thing I want to do…is you.”  Sam sounded just like he did when they were younger, everything that came out of his mouth was sex, and that was when it hit her.  

“What did you find in the basement?” Beth questioned, changing the subject.

“Ah, something called a Kitsune.”  Sam shrugged, “they leave these special symbols which triggered the reactions we had earlier in the living room.”  He stood up straight, “wait, why do I know that name?”

“You hunted one before,” Beth whispered, it was just an image in his head.

“Do you think it happened again in the kitchen?”

“No, that was all us.”  She grinned, then looked down as she thought to herself.  “A Kitsune, a nine-tails?”

“Are we talking about Pokémon now?”  Dean’s voice interrupted as he stood in the doorway.  Sam grabbed the closest pillow and covered his lap, which made his brother give a sly grin.

“No, well, yes, it is a Pokémon.”  Beth looked over at him. “How do you know that?”

“What? I used to play it with…never mind.”  Dean smiled, proud that he had recognized something that the other two didn’t. “Like you said, we’ve hunted them before, but they didn’t do this, in fact the pituitary gland was all they wanted.”

“Okay, we’ll go back to the discussion of Dean playing a card game later, and a traditional Kitsune doesn’t eat that.  What else did you find out about it?” Beth watched as Sam shifted uncomfortably on the bed. She reached out with her mind and connected with his.  The residual energy that Dean was giving off from his thoughts of the kiss were bouncing off Sam like waves, making him still quite edgy. She concentrated on him, knowing she could block the energy from transferring between the two and watched as Sam relaxed.  

“How did you do that?” Sam spoke up, his eyes locked on hers

“Do what?”  Dean questioned.

“I basically turned you off.”  She smiled and looked at him while batting her eyelashes.  Dean’s smile faded. “No, seriously, Sam’s body is like a magnet and you are like a big superconductor.  You’re thinking about our kiss in the kitchen and Sam is sucking up all the emotions, so I stepped in, like a big iron door and shut you off.”

“You can do that?”  Dean looked a little confused.  

“I just did.”

“Is there anything you can’t do?” 

“YOU.”  She smiled and watched as he rolled his eyes, and flipped her off.  “Ouch!” Beth hopped down from the dresser and walked around the room.  “A Kitsune is Japanese, not Greek, which is totally throwing off my game here.  Why would a trickster want to drive us all mad?”

“What do they look like?  I mean when they’re not foxes.”  Sam sat forward.

“Women, old men, little kids…” Beth stopped and shook her head.  “No way.”

“What?”  Both questioned at the same time.  Beth glanced between them. 

“Mildred, the “maid” as Dean so eloquently put it, was also my Grandfather’s nurse when he got sick.  She’s the one that comes here to clean the house, there’s never anyone here, so she would think it was safe.”  Beth quickly turned and made her way down the stairs to the first floor and then once again to the basement. The footsteps of the two grown men followed suit and they found her typing over the keyboard as she stared at the screen.  “When my grandfather passed and I knew I wasn’t sticking around, I had security cameras installed all over the house.” She watched the monitor split into nine sections that also filled a second monitor that popped on. “You can see every room with these.”

“You haven’t been here in almost three months, how are you going to narrow it down?”  Sam watched her wink at him, type something into the computer and watched as it began to cycle through clips of only motion.

“An advanced motion-detection feature, good for night vision.”  She smiled and watched as a woman walked up to the house in the middle of the day.  “That’s Mildred.” They watched a couple hours of the woman as she came and went, followed through each of the rooms and then Beth stopped the video. “That is not Mildred.”

They watched as a man, dressed in a uniform knocked twice on the door.  He waited for a moment, glanced around and then walked over to the railing where the symbol was and began to carve it into the wood.

“Son of a bitch!”  Dean growled, but Beth cocked her head to the side a little and watched intensely.  “We’ve got a face, do you have a name?”

“Yeah, not our guy,” She replied and zoomed in on the picture.  Dean looked at her as if she were insane.

“What do you mean “not our guy”?  You’ve got him red handed.” Beth shook her head.  

“The strokes of his hand are different than the symbol.”  She picked up a piece of paper, rewound the video and followed his strokes.  Sam and Dean were impressed by what they saw and when she was done Beth looked down at it.  “This is Greek.”

“What’s it for?”  Sam questioned and watched as she snapped a picture and sent it to Becca, who replied almost instantly.

“Apparently, protection.”  She replied and put the phone down.  “Greek Gods annoy me.”

They played though more of the recordings, each one taking turns late into the night.  Beth brought down a cot, knowing the basement was the only place not touched by the symbols and while one slept the other two ran over the video.  

Beth stood behind Sam, massaging his shoulders as he stared intensely at the nine screens, but she jumped when something peeked its head out of the bushes.  “Look at that.

Sam rolled back the video as a fox jumped up on the porch.  “Is that seriously a fox?”

“Well, we’ll see in a minute.”  

The animal went sniffing around the porch and stopped at the symbol that the man had drawn, hissing at it, then it looked up at the camera, which made Beth shiver.  It’s eyes shined on the night vision giving it an evil look and slowly it transformed, into an younger woman that Beth didn’t know. With one long claw, the frail woman erased the Greek rune and replaced it with her own, before shifting back and taking off into the woods.

“Do you know her?”  Sam questioned. 

“Nope, but I know who does.”  Beth turned and walked by, slapping Dean’s boot as she did before she headed up the stairs.  The older brother blinked a few times before he turned to look at Sam.

“Did we find it?”  Dean questioned, his voice still deep from sleep.

“Yep, and Beth’s pissed.”  Sam turned in his seat.

“So, it’s either batten down the hatches or lock and load, what is she doing?”  Sam looked up at the ceiling and gave him a questioning frown.

“Taking a shower?”  He answered. Dean nodded, and stood.  “Where are you going?”

“Upstairs.  There’s a bed up there with my name on it.”  Sam smiled as Dean disappeared. 

Sam turned and shut everything down before following suit and headed for the bedroom on the second floor. Beth lay on the bed, pillow tucked up under her head and stared at the wall.  Her wet hair was brushed and braided and Sam slowly closed the door, shutting off the overhead light. She watched as he stripped down to his jeans and climbed over to lay behind her. Pulling her close, he placed his lips on her bare shoulder that he had exposed by pulling the collar down of the large shirt she wore.

“To answer your question, no, I’m not okay,” she whispered, and turned onto her back to look up at him.  Sam propped himself up, leaning his head on his hand and scanned her face. “A mythical Japanese creature invaded my home, drew symbols on God only knows how many spots, and I can’t tell if the attraction I feel to either one of you is real or a damned spell.”

“Well,” Sam grinned, “we know one of them is real.”  

Beth rolled her eyes as he watched the corners of her lips turn up in a slight smile.  “But do I want to take the chance of getting into it with you when it might turn into something all three of us regret?”

“Good point.”  Sam rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “But only until it’s done,” he whispered and kissed her softly before laying his head down on the pillow beside her.  Beth took his hand, which he placed gently on her stomach and stared at the dark ceiling. “I love you, Beth.”

She turned and placed her lips against the only spot on him that she could reach, his forehead, and kissed it gently.  “I love you too, now get some sleep.”

 

She didn’t know how long she stared at the ceiling before she slipped out from Sam’s arms and snuck across the hall to the bathroom.  With a sigh, she placed both hands on the ceramic sink and stared into the mirror.

“Hera, we need to talk.”  She looked straight into her own eyes and brought the Goddess out.  The woman who looked back at her was her reflection in every way except the glowing blue eyes.

“North Wind, why are you alone?”  Hera questioned in a voice not unlike hers.

“They’re asleep and would wake up in an instant if I wanted them to, but we have to talk about this.  I can’t lead them both around, loving both and having one. I need to know what to do with Dean.” 

“Just what you have been doing.  You can’t have one without the other, you know this in your heart.  It’s not a perfect situation but it’s what is meant to be.”

“Leading on one of my best friends, loving him but not being able to give him everything, that’s meant to be?”  Beth shook her head. “It’s not fair to him.”

“Life is certainly not fair, North Wind.”  Hera gave her a smile that made Beth sigh. “Find him what he needs, when he needs it and nothing will change.”

“The last time I pushed him into that, a Gorgon attacked, do you really believe that he’s going to be responsive to me suggesting it again.”

“You have power over him, Elizabeth, if you need to; all you have to do is give a little push.”

“The last thing I am ever going to do, is use these powers on those boys.”  She growled and watched as the light in her eyes began to fade.

“I’m very happy to hear that.”  And with those last words, Hera was gone.  

Beth took one last look in the mirror and walked back to the bedroom, passing by Dean’s room as she went.  The door was cracked, probably so that he could hear what was going on in the house, but she could see him moving about on the bed.  Slowly, she pushed the door open and watched the expression of pain on his face. He had lied to her, the nightmares hadn’t stopped and she could feel the pain, and what was worse now she could see the nightmares.

She eased down on the bed and reached over, gently caressing the side of his face until his body stopped shivering from the cold sweat that covered him.  She wanted to slip in and talk him down but she had just said she wouldn’t invade. Beth ran her fingers through his hair, and down, letting him feel her there as she tried to calm the emotions that flowed from him.  

Dean groaned, his face filling with pain and sadness as the tears streamed down his cheeks, and she watched his eyes flutter.  He reached up to her, as if not sure she were real and gripped her shirt before he turned over and placed his head on her bent leg, the one closest to him. Beth smiled at her first thought of “thank god I put on shorts”, when he pressed his forehead in the fold close to her stomach.  

She loved feeling him close.  Dean had always been so protective of her, and when he was nearby there was always that little thought of a shield around her. Even now with how she felt, she knew he would die for her, and she felt the same way about him, just as she did for Sam.  It was hard to see such a strong man brought to tears because of something she had caused.

As she looked down at him, as his breathing became more even and she could feel him falling into a more restful sleep, but she could feel Sam startle awake from his dream state.

_ “Beth?” _  The telepathic voice in her head called frantically and she turned towards the door.

“It’s okay, Sam, I’m in with your brother.  He’s still having nightmares.”

_ “I heard something downstairs.” _  She listened for a moment, and heard nothing.  That boy must have some really good hearing. 

“Wait for me.” She slowly slipped from under Dean’s hold, kissing his cheek as she slid the pillow under his head and walked out to find Sam looking into the room.  “He lied to me.”

“I know, I’ve been feeling the nightmares.”  Sam sighed, “I just couldn’t tell you.”

She exhaled and looked at the wall.  “I’ve caused the two of you so much pain.”  

“Hey,” he took her by the shoulders and turned her to look at him.  Beth looked up into those eyes, the ones filled with love and watched as he gave her a slight smile.  “We wouldn’t trade you for the world, and nightmares just come with the job.”

“Still, it hurts to see him in pain like that.”  She glanced back at Dean. Sam wrapped his arms around her and drew in a deep breath, but that was when they both heard something tinkering down in the kitchen.  

The two made their way slowly down the stairs to the doorway of the living room and watched the shape of woman etching something into the wood panel next to the fireplace.  Sam drew his gun from the back of his jeans and Beth grabbed the metal-tipped umbrella that sat in the basket by the door. Whoever, whatever it was, was so engrossed in its business that it never heard them sneak up and as Sam took aim with the Colt, Beth took a swing with the umbrella.  

The blow connected with its head, giving it a good bash but as it turned, Beth stepped back. This thing looked like a woman, but its face was that of a fox, a long nosed, red fox that sprung nine tails as it turned and jumped through the window.  Sam let off three shots as it ran and both bolted out the door after it.

Dean was down the stairs and over the railing before he came to stop just on the outside of the open front door.  Beth stood barefoot on the cobblestone walk, umbrella in hand, and turned looking up at the boys. Sam sighed and Dean stared down at the blood on the porch.

“Whatever it was, you nicked it.”  He spoke up. Sam turned and looked at the spot that Dean was referring too.

“Looks like one of the shots got her…it…pretty good.”

“Then it couldn’t have gotten too far.”  Beth stated and walked past them into the house.  Sam looked at his brother as they both followed her in.  She was pulling on a pair of boots when they caught up with her in the living room.  

“You’re going after it now?”  Dean questioned.

“No time like the present.”  

“Wait,” he took her arm as she went to walk by and Beth looked up at him, frustrated.  “You can’t just go out there half-cocked without knowing how to kill it.”

Sam was over at the wood investigating the symbol.  “This one is different.”

Beth pulled her arm from Dean and made her way over to him.  She took the cellphone she had left on the coffee table and snapped a picture before sending it to Becca.

“It’s three in the morning.”  Dean stated and watched as she looked up at him, holding the phone up as it pinged a message back.

“Becca knew I was sending it anyway.  She’s witchy like that.” She gave a little wink and looked at the response.  “Freaking perfect!” She sat down and watched as Sam began to scrape the wood.  “This one isn’t for those romantic notions. This one is meant to drive you nuts.”

“Like totally bonkers?”  Sam questioned.

“As in “take your own life” kind of crazy.”  She answered. “According to her, the Kitsune have the ability to clone the appearance of anyone. They can willingly manifest themselves into people’s dreams and create illusions so elaborate that they are perceived as reality.  They can also drive you mad, and it gets smarter with age, but they can only start changing forms after a century.”

“So we can be dealing with anyone here.”  Dean sighed.

“But we have one advantage.”  Beth looked over at Sam. “He hit it.”

“How many people can be walking around with a bullet wound?”

“I think I can narrow it down.”  Beth replied and walked back over to the basement door, flipping on the light as her phone vibrated again.  She placed it beside the computer and pulled up the surveillance again. Sam and Dean stood by and watched her small fingers fly over the top of the keyboard.  “Becca said that if they are wounded, their ability to shift is pretty much nixed until they heal. All we have to do is,” she stopped on the screen with a blond with long hair, “find her, and we have our Kitsune.”

Dean stepped closer and shook his head.  “No way!”

“You know her?”  Sam questioned.

“Her name is Clara, she works at the bank in town.”  Dean shrugged. “I met her yesterday when I stopped for gas.  I was going to help her with her car,” he stopped for a moment and shook his head,  “she said she lived out here on the road.”

“Do you recognize her?”  Sam asked Beth, who shook her head.

“The only other house that’s out on this road is the Theriot place and unless someone bought it,” she turned, her face full of thoughts as the wheels in her mind spun, “it would be abandoned and a perfect place for a Kitsune to hide.”

“So, let’s go hunting.”  Dean smiled, clapping his hands together.  She knew he was itching to kill something and after those nightmares, she would be too. Beth looked up at Sam and watch as he nodded in agreement.

 

Beth sat ducked down between the bushes in front of the old decrepit house that was less than a half-mile from her grandfather’s place.  She had been down this way before but it never looked so evil. With Sam on one side and Dean on the other, they made their way in through the back door.

“We’re going to have to split up if we’re going to find it.”  Sam stated with an unsure look in his eyes. 

Dean shook his head.  “She said to stick together.”  

“We’re not going to get anything accomplished sitting here debating about it.”  Beth growled and moved around the corner, leaving the two men to stare at each other in annoyance.

“You follow her, I’ll take the upstairs.”  Sam whispered, watched as Dean nodded, and the two of them went in separate directions.

Dean walked up behind Beth as she looked over the symbols on the walls.  “It looks like she’s been here for a while.”

“Long enough to start sneaking into your place and making everyone uppity.”  Dean smiled as she looked up at him. 

“The only one I saw getting “up” was you on that couch.”  She grinned and patted him with the back of her hand on his flat stomach.

“Hey, hands to yourself, Little One, I’m off-limits, remember.” Dean snickered. With a roll of her eyes, Beth started heading for the open basement door.  She grabbed the small flashlight from her back pocket, flicked it on and shined it down the stairs. “Want me to go first?”

“Do I look like I need to be protected from spiders?”  She retorted and then made her way down the steps. It was just before the last stair that the smell hit her.  With the back of her gun hand she covered her nose. “Oh, I’m pretty sure we’re not going to like what we find down here.”

“I never like what I find in basements.”  Dean answered.

“Sam, how are you doing up there?” Beth whispered, as she looked around.

_ “I’ve got nothing.”  _  His reply was full of agitation and she knew that one of the symbols on the wall had to have something to do with it.  

Just as she turned to flash the light towards the back of the basement, her foot kicked something squishy and she looked down instead.

“Trade ya, we’ve got a body.”  She coughed and looked up at Dean’s face, which was full of disgust as he looked over the partially decayed corpse at the end of the light.  “I think we found the real Clara, looks like she’s been dead for weeks.”

_ “I think I found the Kitsune.” _  Sam answered and both Beth and Dean turned to run up the stairs.  

Just beyond the landing, they could hear Sam wrestling with something in the back bedroom.  Dean entered first, ducking as a chair flew at him. It was Beth, who crouched down and tucked herself next to the dresser, that saw just what Sam was dealing with.  It was large, like a wolf, but red, white and black like a fox, nine very long tails flowed from its back end but the body looked like that of a woman’s, the one who lay rotting in the basement.

She signaled for Dean to distract if from Sam as she grabbed the knife from her pocket and drew the symbol she remembered from the porch onto the dresser beside her.  It would render the monster powerless, at least magically, but those claws were lethal.

“How do I distract it?”  Dean yelled. Sam looked up and was able to avoid the sharp edges one more time.  “Beth?”

“Use your imagination, Dean!”  She snapped back and watched as he took his own knife, slicing his arm.  The smell of blood filled the air and the Kitsune, stuck in its half-human form, turned towards him.

      “Now what?”

“It was your dumb decision to cut yourself, do something about it.”  Beth was almost done with the rune but there was no way to know if it would work completely.  She was worried about both Dean and Sam.

“Thanks, pain in the ass.”  Dean pulled out the gun, ready to shoot but Sam was in the way as it knocked him to the floor.  “Sam, move your ass, I can’t get a clear shot.”

“Easier said than done.”  Sam argued as he wrestled with the creature.  “On the count of three, Beth, you’d better be ready.”  Sam punched it on the side of the face, which only made its jaws snap more ferociously at him.  “One.”

“Two!”  Dean said as he cocked back the hammer on the Colt, aiming straight for its target.

“Three.”  Beth plunged the dagger deep into the wood, splitting the rune in two. The wave it sent out seemed to make everything freeze for just a second, long enough for the magic to disappear, and for Sam to move as she watched the gun go off.  

Sam rolled out from under the monster as it stared down at Dean, the bullet flew straight for its forehead and hit the spot dead center in the middle of its eyes.  All three ducked down and covered their ears as the high-pitched wail emanated from whatever magic was left in the room and the creature exploded, turning to nothing more than black dust.

“Gross!”  Dean coughed.  “I think some of it got in my mouth.” Beth couldn’t help but smile, putting her head back against the wall as Sam rolled onto his side and looked between the two of them.  “Can we go? I’m covered in Kitsune.”

Sam started laughing hysterically as Dean brushed the dust from his coat.  Beth got up from the floor and they both grabbed Sam’s hands, bringing him to his feet.  

 

Beth sat on the bottom of the tub as the water rained down on her.  Once again she felt she had put the boys in more danger than they needed and it was weighing on her mind.  She was trying to block Sam out and trying to keep Dean’s emotions at bay but that was hard to do when they were talking together on the porch.

 

Sam looked at his brother, still brushing stuff from his hands, even though he had changed his clothes and taken a shower.  He smiled at Dean and gave a little shake of his head as he took a swig of the beer in his hand.

“There’s nothing there, Dean.”  Sam laughed.

“But I still feel it.”  Dean mumbled and took the amber bottle that Sam handed him.  

“I think what you feel is the shower spraying on Beth’s hands.” Dean looked up at him.

“Really, you can feel that?”

Sam shrugged.  “I can feel a lot of stuff from her.  Right now, she’s blocking me out, but that means she’s opening up to you.”

“How come that sounds so weird?”  He sighed. “I don’t feel any different.”

“You wouldn’t, not until you let her in.”  

Dean sat back and closed his eyes, concentrating on Beth and suddenly he was standing in the bathroom.  Beth opened the curtain and looked at him, as he stared down at her, and watched the grin form on his face.

“OUT!” she snapped and suddenly Dean was back in his body, his face flush.

“Remind me to never do that again.”  He stated and looked at Sam who only smiled.  “Seriously, it’s worse than what happens when Cas transports us, a better view but a worse hangover.”

“Wait, were you just in the shower with her?”  Sam asked.

“The bathroom, she was in the shower.”  Dean nodded and felt his brother punch him in the shoulder.  “Sorry, I had to try it and that’s what happened.”

“Can we talk about the kiss in the kitchen?”

“I don’t want to talk to you about when I kiss her.”  Dean answered. “It’s weird enough kissing your brother’s girlfriend.”

“That’s just it, Dean, she’s not…”

“Just yours, I understand that, but it’s still a little weird to me.”  Dean leaned forward, tipping the half-empty bottle in his hand. “Do you think they have strip clubs in this town?”

“I’m pretty sure they do, why?”  Dean got up, handed him the bottle and walked down to the Impala.  “Dean?”

“I’ll be back.”  He sighed and opened the driver side door.  “If she asks, tell her I went for pie.”

 

Beth paced back and forth across the living room floor, her hands rubbing together as she did so and Sam watched her with all the patience he had, from the couch, as she looked down towards the floor.

“He really said pie?”  She questioned and watched Sam nod. “He’ll be gone all morning then.”

“Beth, he’ll be fine.  He’s a grown man, hell, he’s a hunter and he’s going to be more on his toes now that he’s dealt with a Gorgon.”

“Did I push him into it?”  She whispered and Sam reached over, taking her hand.  She moved with him, not against him as he pulled her down onto his lap so she straddled him.  He smiled as he placed one hand on the middle of her back and the other against her left butt cheek.  “I’m sorry.”

“For what, caring about Dean’s safety?”  He smiled, 

“Thinking about him when I’m right here with you,” she answered, placing her hands on his neck. Sam sat up straighter, his arms tightening around her as he pulled her body to him.

“The fact that you’re right here with me trumps everything. “  She smiled as his lips lingered mere inches from her and slowly the hand on her back rose to the nape of her neck, hitting that sweet spot.  Beth couldn’t stop her eyes from closing. “I love doing that to you.”

“Sam.” His name was a gentle breeze against his lips as he closed the distance between them.

Before she could blink, her shirt was on the floor, as she was chest-to-chest with the man whose hands were more than magic on her skin.  Sam stood, picking her up as she wrapped her legs around him and walked upstairs to the bedroom they had been in earlier that night. He was gentle as he sat back down, not letting her move from his lap. His kisses ventured lower and the breaths she let out turned to quiet moans.

“He’s not here.”  Sam coaxed and nipped at the curve of her neck, which made Beth tug on the handful of hair that she had tangled in her hand.  

Sam felt her release him and go for his jeans, ones that he had removed the belt from earlier and he found himself shifting until there wasn’t much between them at all.   Beth moved her hair from in front of her eyes and could feel the heat he let off. She could feel Dean, even if Sam couldn’t and if he was having as much fun as she was, she hoped this helped the cause.  

With a sly smile she leaned down and kissed Sam softly, taking all of him in slowly as she moved and felt his breath catch in his throat. He quietly whispered her name as the rhythm she set for them was an agonizing tease.  He pushed up against her, his hand grasping her by the hips and quickly he flipped her over so she was under him. The comforter became a cocoon, enveloping them into a world of their own, until they were both overheated and sated. 

 

Beth watched the sun come up through the window, felt Sam’s arms around her with his face buried in her hair and heard the door open slowly downstairs.  She grabbed the sheet, whichever one was ripped from the bed, wrapped it around herself and stood at the bedroom door, closing it just enough to watch Dean move slowly up the hallway, as if he didn’t want to disturb them.  

He was just about to open the door when he stopped, stood straight and turned in her direction.  His eyes scanned over the thin sheet she wore and she smiled at his messed up hair and disheveled clothing.

“What kind?”  She questioned and watched as he gave a sly grin, licking his lips.

“Apple,” he answered and turned to look at her.  “Thank you for the…help.”

“I think I should be thanking you.”  Beth laughed.

“I’m, uh, going to get some sleep.  What are our plans?”

“A nice long nap,” she whispered and watched as he nodded, still smiling and walked into his room.  Beth turned back and crawled up the bed to where Sam lay, now on his back. She draped the sheet over him and put her head down on his chest.  She could feel Dean stripping away the layers as he climbed under the cool sheets in his room. “Do you want company?”

“ _ When you say it that way, it sounds kind of perverted.” _  He laughed.   _ “No, you stay with Sammy, I’ll be alright.” _

“If the nightmares come back again, I’m coming in there.”  She could feel him smile.

_ “I’m counting on it.” _ It was amazing how little effort it took for that man to fall asleep because as she let herself linger in his head, just off to the edge, she could feel the need for rest take over and his mind was clear of anything but the woman he had just left.

“Can you turn him off?”  Sam grumbled under his breath as he pulled her closer.  

Beth smiled and let herself surround Sam, cutting him off from any other emotion in the house, including hers. She could still feel Dean as sleep eluded her until the man across the hall was deep into his own dreams.

 

The revving of the engine had Sam sitting up in bed, his vision blurry from the bright rays of the sun that beamed in through the window.  His bed was empty, and the sheets that covered him were half-heartedly tossed over his midsection. With the sound of the engine once again hitting full throttle, Sam jumped out of bed and ran to the window, sheets covering his lower half.

He could see Beth leaning over the engine as she wrenched her head to look at Dean who gave it some more gas.  With a look of annoyance, she threw the socket at him and watched him duck.

“I said give it some gas, not blow the damn thing up.”  She smiled and watched him get out of the car, backing her up to the quarter panel, where she grabbed ahold of his shirt and kissed him on the cheek before ducking down to sneak away.  Now in the driver’s seat she put the car in gear and listened to it idle. “That’s a boy, give mama a little purr.”

Sam jumped into his jeans and grabbed a shirt as he headed down to the porch.  Both Dean and Beth looked up at him as the door slammed shut.

“Are you trying to give someone a heart attack?”  Sam questioned, walking down in bare feet.

“It’s almost two o’clock, Sleepy,” Dean laughed, “we couldn’t wait all day for you to get up.”

Sam looked down at Beth as she stepped up to him, a scowl on his face.  “Is it really two?”

“Yes, you asked me to block you last night, I figured you needed some sleep so I thought I would let you kind of wake up on your own.”  She smiled and watched him roll his eyes. It made sense to him and he leaned down to gently kiss her on the lips. “Besides, Dean was telling me all about his pie last night and that in itself would have had you rocking.”

“You told her about your hook-up?”  Sam questioned. 

Dean gave a big smile as he reached in with the socket and gave the spark plug a little twist.  “Yep, every little last detail.”

Beth looked at him and shook her head.  “Not really.”

“She knows it was “all-American”,” Dean watched the look on his brother’s face as the blood started to rush up to his ears.

“How?  Why?” Sam asked as he looked down at her.  “Even I don’t want to know the details of that kind of stuff.”

“It’s not as bad as he said, but it would have opened up a whole new can of…”

“Tail, you would have gotten some.”  Dean picked on him as he continued with his job under the hood of the car.

All three looked up as a black SUV, pulled into the driveway.  Dean stood, wiping his hands and Sam turned facing the incoming car as it parked no less than fifty yards away.  A man in a dark suit stepped out and looked at the three of them. He didn’t move away from the car, didn’t even take both feet out but he looked between the three of them searching.

“Elizabeth Peterson?”  The man questioned. Beth couldn’t read anything off of him and this worried her.

It was as if things were in slow motion, the way he reached into his jacket and how both boys moved almost at the same time. When he drew the gun, and pulled the trigger it had to only have been seconds from the time he asked her name to the sound of the shot being fired.

“BETH!”  She could hear Dean scream and felt the hand on her arm pull at her before the rest of her world went blank.

  
  



	9. But Did you Die?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When war is about to rain down on the very spot you stand, there's only one thing you can possibly do. Call his sister.

“But, Did You Die?”

SPNFanfic #9

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

It was as if things were in slow motion, the way he reached into his jacket and how both boys moved almost at the same time, but when he drew the gun, and pulled the trigger it had to only been seconds from the time he asked her name to the sound of the shot being fired.

“BETH!”  She could hear Dean scream and felt the hand on her arm pull at her before the rest of her world went blank.

The echo of the shot rang through her ear as she held her eyes tightly closed, waiting for that blinding heat that came when it scorched the skin and sank deep into the muscle.  She had been shot before, this time wouldn’t be any different, but where would it land, where did he aim? Would it kill her his time, would this life as she knew it be over?

“Ah, do you think you could do something about this thing?”  Dean’s nervous voice shook her from the painful thoughts she had running through her head and slowly she opened her eyes only to find she was staring at his back.  

Sam’s fingers were wrapped tightly around her wrist and she had one hand up, almost touching Dean’s back, as he stood in front of her.  Where was the bullet? Where was the blood and the chaos, and someone dead, dying or bleeding? It was the look on Sam’s face, as he stared at his brother in worry and shock that made Beth step between them.

There, steadily spinning mere inches from his chest, was the bullet meant for her. Dean had stepped in front of it as Sam had pulled her out of harm’s way, but it hung, suspended in the air just above his heart, where the spot between her eyes would have been if he hadn’t become her shield.  Beth licked her lips, not lowering the hand that she held behind his back and slipped out of Sam’s grasp. Slowly she reached for it, and caught the spinning casing in her hand. It wasn’t hot, like she expected it to be, but spinning in the air might have taken some of the heat from it.

Dean relaxed as she lowered her arms and brought the closed fist to her face.  He glanced down at her as she opened her fingers slowly, letting the bullet slowly emerge as she held it in her palm.

“You stopped a bullet.”  Dean whispered.

“You could have been killed.”  She snapped back and punched him in the arm, turning her glare up to him.  “Don’t ever do that again!”

“Ow.”  He looked at her in total confusion as she moved towards the porch and sat down on the steps.  Sam made his way to sit on the step just below her and Dean leaned against the railing as the three of them stared at her hand.  “How the hell did you do that?”

“I don’t know.”  She shook her head and looked up at him, frustration in her tone. She reached out a hand and placed a hand on his cheek, a gesture he closed his eyes at.  “I’m sorry, I’m just so confused. You both saved my life…”

“Hey,” Sam whispered, taking her hand in his the one that still clenched the bullet, Beth looked over as she let Dean take hold of her other one, “we’re all okay, we just need to figure out who that was.”

“I need you to tell me exactly what happened after the shot was fired.”  She pleaded, shaking her head. “I don’t remember.”

Dean looked worried as he took a breath and gave Sam a glance before watching Beth’s desperate attempt to remember fail once again and she leaned her head down.  Dean kneeled down in front of her looking up at her eyes and they filled with tears.

“You stopped it, you saved me, you saved you, Beth.”  He whispered and kissed her fingers. “The gun went off, the bullet was aimed right at you…”

“Dean?”  Sam wasn’t sure that his brother’s straightforward approach was the best but Dean flashed him a dirty look.

“It would have hit you right in the head, but Sam grabbed your arm, just as I stepped in front of you. It stopped, and I think you stopped it.  I could feel the heat in my back, where your hand was.” 

“All I remember is thinking that this was it, I was done.”  She whispered as the tear dripped from her eyes. She looked up at Dean.  “That man, I know I’ve seen him before.”

“He’s the least of my concerns right now.”  Dean growled. “You are all I care about at this moment.”

“I just…” she glanced over at Sam and shook her head, “I just need time to remember.” 

Beth slipped away from them both and walked into the house, closing the door lightly behind her and Sam took a deep breath as Dean ran a hand through his hair, then crossed his arms.

“I don’t get it,” Sam looked up at his brother, “she’s remembered every other time she’s used her powers but this time, she can’t remember?”

“Yeah, I think something’s up with that.”  He glanced up at the bedroom window, not that Beth was there but he could feel her.  “God,” he smiled, “she stopped it inches from my chest, Sam, I could feel the heat coming off that thing.”

“At least, she didn’t have to bring you back to life.”  Sam watched as the smile on Dean’s face grew. 

“That would have made, what about a dozen times now?”  Sam smiled and nodded. “Still, it’s just odd.”

 

Beth lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, she twisted the bullet between her fingers, trying to remember anything leading up to the thoughts in her mind, but she was blank.  There was nothing she could do to bring them back. As she twisted the casing more, the hotter it became until it suddenly shot out of her hand and lodged into the windowsill. 

Terror filled her eyes as she stood and walked over to where it had penetrated the wood.  What the hell was she doing? Frantically she pulled out the small pocket knife and dug the bullet from the wall, which was surprisingly in one piece but that was when she noticed it, the markings on the sides.  

 

With a deep breath, she headed down the stairs to the basement, peeking out to make sure the boys were still in the yard before ducking down the stairway.

In the back corner, underneath a microscope that she was able to connect to a monitor, she examined the etchings on the casing.  Most bullets had their own unique striations, which happened when the bullet left the chamber to pass through the barrel, like a fingerprint.  This one was like nothing she had ever seen before.

“It’s a spear.”  She whispered, bringing the magnification up as high as it would go, looking at the triangle tip of the long indent.  She turned and looked up at the ceiling, then moved towards the computer. She typed as fast as she could, getting the same result no matter what she put in and looked angrily at the screen.  “Ares,” she sighed, “I should have known.”

“Beth?”  Sam yelled down the stairs and she swiped the bullet from the tray as he leaned down to look at her.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I was just checking some things out.”  She smiled at him and slowly made her way over, stuffing the bullet in her pocket.

“What happened to the wall in the bedroom?”  He questioned and watched her smile, pulling out the pocket knife.

“Target practice.” She shrugged and stuffed it away once again.  “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, I came looking for you just to check.”  He smiled as she closed the gap between them slowly and he found himself looking down into her eyes.  “I couldn’t feel you for a few minutes there, it worried me.”

“You’re not supposed to use this to keep an eye on me.” Beth grinned as she placed her hands on his chest.

“I couldn’t help it, I was worried.” Sam grasped her by the hips and Beth turned her head, putting his ear to his chest.  His left hand moved up, tracing her lower spine as she stood in his arms. “You shouldn’t worry about the memories, Beth, it’s over.”

“But, it’s not, Sam, I think it’s just the beginning of something.”  She sighed and stepped back away from him. “What is that smell?”

“Burgers, Dean’s remedy for everything.”  He grinned as they headed towards the stairs. At the top, Beth looked at the six-foot man in the frilly apron.

“I thought pie was Dean’s remedy for everything,” she grinned as she snuck a peek at his behind in the tight blue-jeans.  Dean turned with the spatula in hand and pointed at her.

“Don’t talk to me about pie!”  He grinned, playfully snapping at her.  “You and I don’t have a great history on the subject.”

Beth took a seat at the table and watched him flip the burgers as Sam grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down across from her.

“I thought we had agreed that Apple was a good subject.”  Sam shook his head as he listened to the two of them and Beth snatched the beer from his hand, took a swig, made a horrible face and gave it back.  “I don’t know how you guys drink that stuff.”

“I’ve never seen you drink, what’s your poison?”  Dean questioned. 

“Shots.”  She shrugged and watched at both of them looked at her.  “Seriously, did you think I was a prude. I drink, when the need arises, which lately seems like a lot, but hey, I think I could keep up with the two of you.”

“What kind of shots?”  Dean turned as he placed the cheeseburgers on the buns besides him and shut off the stove.  “The fruity kind like Tequila Rose or whiskey?”

“What do you have?”  

“Guys, it is way too early to start drinking.” Sam pointed out.

“Says the man with the beer in his hand.”  Dean replied and slid in next to Beth with three burgers on his place.  “You want one?” He asked them both and watched as they shook their heads in response.  “Good, more for me.”

“Maybe I’ll take you on later, Dean.”  Beth smiled and reached under the table, giving his thigh a little squeeze.  Dean’s eyes widened as he jumped in his seat, which got a sly smile from Sam who just shook his head at the two jokers.  

“You keep that up and the burgers can wait until later.” Dean kissed her quickly on the cheek, a grease-covered kiss that made Beth stand up with a jolt and rush to the sink.  Dean laughed as he looked at his brother. Beth washed the side of her face with soap and water before sitting back down and Dean turned towards her once again.

“You suck!”  She stated and turned her chair so she was only facing Sam.  “About this bullet.”

“The one you dug out of your wall?”  Dean mumbled and she kicked him under the table, which made Dean glare in her direction.  Sam looked at him then back at Beth.

“I thought you said it was target practice with the knife?”

“I got heated and the bullet went flying out of my hand and into the wall.”  She turned to Dean, “how did you know about that?”

“I saw it.”  He shrugged, which got Sam’s attention.

“Wait, what do you mean you “saw it”?”  He questioned. Dean finished what he had in his mouth and glanced between the two.

“We were standing outside and I just saw Beth on the bed then the bullet went flying.”  He put his hands up as if to say “what did you think I meant”, and then went back to his food.

“And, this didn’t strike you as something you might have wanted to let us know about?”  Beth glanced over at Sam, who sounded pretty defensive.

“Sam, it’s okay, it was just a vision.”  She whispered, taking his hand under the table.  

“You see her all the time, I just thought I was picking something up from you,” Dean answered, “that whole magnet/conductor deal.”  

“Wait, guys, there is no need to get upset here.”  Beth whispered, feeling the tension in the room grow.  She scanned the walls for runes or symbols but found none, except for the one in her pocket.  Slowly she reached in and pulled out the bullet, placing it flat on the table. Both men stopped what they were doing and looked at it.  “The striations on this bullet weren’t made from an ordinary gun.” She watched as Sam reached out but she put her hand on his, stopping his reach.  “Don’t touch it, I’m not sure what it will do to you.”

“Why?”  Dean questioned.  “What does the striations have to do with it?”

“The mark on the bullet is a spear.”

“The barrel can’t make a spear shaped mark.”  Sam spoke up and pulled his hand away.

“I know a normal gun can’t but something drummed up from a God could. That man, I told you I knew him from somewhere.  He was in the parking lot at the SubStation. He was the evil I felt yesterday.” She glanced over at Dean, “and the spear is the symbol for Ares, God of War.”

“Hera said he was coming.”  Dean sighed. “So what does it mean?”

“I think he just declared war on us, boys.  The problem is I think you’re feeling the effects of this one small bullet. I can feel it so I’m sure you feel it more, but what happens when the army shows itself?” She sat back in her chair, at a loss for words but when she turned towards the living room, she noticed something that she hadn’t before.  

Beth picked up the bullet and placed it in her hand. She stood and went to the opened the window, which had no screen in it and watched as it went flying out of her palm and into a tree a thousand yards away.  “I know why I can’t remember. The bullet was never meant to touch any of us, just to let them see what I could do. The problem is when one God meets another, things don’t always work out like they should?”

“What do you mean, which God?”

“Athena.”  Beth whispered and walked towards the living room.  She stood before the fireplace and looked up at the painting that was hanging there.  Sam and Dean followed behind her, Dean standing in his normal way, with his arms crossed and ready for anything and Sam looked on inquisitively at her side.  “I always wondered what this was about, why he hung it here. A woman, robed in white on a gallant white horse and golden armor marching into a bloody battle with creatures that couldn’t possibly exist.  Except, now that I’m older, all three of us know they do exist, but I still couldn’t figure out who this woman was until I thought about Ares. His sister, Athena was called the defender of her home and she protected them from outside enemies.  Since my mother was a North Wind, it only makes sense that my grandfather was as well, and could have, at any time invoked the Goddess to protect this home, more so when it became clear that things were heating up and we were going to need it.”

“So we’re stuck in a war between Ares and Athena?”  Dean questioned.

“No, I just think she stopped the bullet that was meant for us, she was protecting us.”  Beth shrugged and glanced back at him. “She was protecting this home,” as she said that she turned completely around and looked at Dean.  Sam, noticing her reaction also peeked at his brother, then, wide-eyed turned completely around. “Athena?”

“Karen, actually.” Dean turned at the sound of the voice beside him and even though his heart beat a mile a minute, he cautiously took two steps to the left, giving the new arrival space.  “But, I was called Athena once.”

“How did you get in?”  Sam questioned and watched as Beth threw him a quick “are you kidding” look, which made Sam shrug.

“I heard my name on the winds.”  She said and winked at Beth, who couldn’t help but smile at the pun.  “This house is protected by me, like Beth said, but I also know when my brother is near.  The bullet you sent out, that was what really called me here. His power flowed through it, so it was a wise decision to get rid of it.”

“It was doing a number on them.”  Beth answered and gestured to the men in the room.  “Who was the man?”

“Just a human that Ares convinced.”  Karen crossed her arm. Dean gave her a once over, now that the shock had cleared.  She was tall, leggy and blond, thin but definitely had tone to her and was very beautiful.  Karen felt the stare and turned towards him. “You must be Achilles, I recognize that heated stare anywhere.”

Dean stumbled over his words as he gave her the biggest cheesy grin he could and Beth rolled her eye, but then Karen set her sights on Sam.

“Odysseus.”  She smiled. Maybe it was jealousy or possessiveness but Beth saw the spark in her eyes.

“Sam, actually.”  He replied which made Beth sigh in relief.  Sam seemed immune to the beautiful woman in the room as he stepped closer to Beth, placing his hand gently against the small of her back.  “That grinning baboon is Dean.”

“Hey!”  Dean snapped, furrowing his brow at his brother but the smile instantly returned when he looked over at Karen.

“So, why are we Ares targets?”  Sam questioned. 

“Unfortunately with all that is going on, there isn’t a real answer for that.  He craves war, and when asked to fight, my brother doesn’t back down.” Karen moved from behind the couch to sit on the arm of the chair beside her.  “The real question would be how do you fight a God, one hell bent on destroying you?”

“That should be easy enough.”  Beth grinned. “That’s why you’re here.”

Karen smiled at her and nodded.  “I can give you some weapons, but you have to create them.”

“Well, no time like the present to get started.”  Sam spoke up, and his anxiousness made Beth look up at him.  His eyes were full of worry but his face said nothing about his true feelings, one that she could feel running through the hand he had on her back.  He hated Gods more than anything, especially with all he had been through, and the sight of this one popping up in the house was making him more than nervous.  It was making him twitchy. 

“Agreed.”  Beth sighed and watched as he looked down at her.  “We should get a list together, or at least a plan.  One guy came at me out of nowhere, I’m definitely not up for a repeat.  We need to ward the house, and the yard, if you can assist with that.”

“What do you have here for supplies?”  Beth stepped away from Sam and gestured towards the basement where the two women disappeared and Dean, with eyebrows raised, watched after. 

“Dean!”  Sam snapped and Dean whipped his head back around to look at his brother, “seriously?”

“What?  I can’t admire two beautiful women walking away?”  He questioned innocently. 

“I’m worried.”  He stepped closer to Dean, lowering his voice.

“You’re always worried, Sammy, it’s what you do.”  Dean shook his head, “look she said she was here to help us, to protect the house and us.”

“And you suddenly believe what a Greek Goddess says because she has long hair and a great ass?”  

“She does, doesn’t she?”  Sam rolled his eyes as the smile got bigger.

“The point is besides Hera, who many of these Olympians have we actually had on our side and how many have tried to take Beth out?” Sam watched as Dean nodded in agreement but then turned towards the doorway waiting for them to come up.  “Are you getting the same feeling I am?”

“The one where there isn’t any feeling at all?”  Dean questioned and the two of them made a dash for the basement.  

When Dean stopped just after the bottom step, Sam just about ran into him as he followed suit and put on the breaks.  Beth stood there, her back to them with her colt in hand, the blank look in her eyes, pointing it directly at Karen, who just smiled over at the two of them.

“Beth!”  Sam yelled, but she did respond.  “What the hell did you do to her?”

“Nothing, she’s concentrating.”  Karen shrugged, her hands folded in front of her and suddenly the blast from the gun echoed through the room, both men crouched low and watched as the bullet stopped midway between the two women and Beth lowered the gun.  “Good, now redirect it.”

Beth looked from the bullet to the wall on the other side of the basement and Sam and Dean watched in awe as the bullet banked and flew into the wall, shattering one of the folding doors as it entered.  Beth let out a breath as she released the energy around her and Sam jumped the stairs to get passed Dean as her legs buckled. 

She held a hand up to her nose to stop the slow stream of blood and turned to look at the man who held her back against him.  “I’m okay.”

“You’re not, Beth.”  He whispered, his breath caressing her ear.  “What are you doing?”

“Getting stronger.”  Beth looked up at him as he turned her to face him and recognized the fear in her eyes.  “I have too, I have to keep you safe.”

“Beth,” he sighed and noticed Dean walk by towards the shattered remains of the door.  Dean came back and took the gun that Beth dangled in her hand before she dropped it. “You need something to eat, come on.”

Sam scooped her up, and headed up the stairs with her as Dean remained in the basement with the blond woman.  He played with the gun in his hand, getting a good measure on how much it weighed before he stood straight and aimed it at Karen.

“I swear to God, whichever one you believe in, that if you are here to hurt her, I will kill you.”  Dean’s tone had taken on a deep growl and he watched as she stepped towards him. 

“You can try, Protector, and I’m sure you will put up a fight.”  She stopped just short of the barrel of the gun before she smiled.  “But against me, you won’t win. However, with me, the three of you can take care of Ares’ army.  Beth just needs a little push, from you and Sam.”

“A push?”  He questioned, flicking on the safety as he tucked the Colt into the back of his jeans.  “What kind of push?”

“What does it take to make her angry?”  

“It takes a lot.”  He answered and watched her nod.  

“I think it takes a lot  _ less _ than you think.”  She responded as she walked right by him.  Dean took a deep breath and glanced once more at the wreckage of the door before he followed the others up the stairs.

 

Sam carried Beth to the second floor, not even bothering with the kitchen and he kicked the door closed with his foot before he set her down on the bed. Beth let her head fall back on the pillows as Sam grabbed a tee-shirt that he had stripped off the night before and wiped the blood from her face.

“You can’t let her use you like that,” he whispered as she reached up and caressed his cheek.

“I’m fine,” she sighed and felt him shake his head.  “Really, Sam, I can control it.”

“I thought so too when I had that much power, but you forget, I can feel you and I know how much it’s draining you, not making you stronger.”  He kissed the palm of her hand as he removed it from his face and wrapped his hands around her tiny one. 

“So what do I do, let him take me?”  Sam shook his head and sighed. 

“No, we’ll find another way, the three of us, like we have been doing.”  Beth looked at him, at the seriousness in his face and she nodded as he slipped his hand behind her neck and kissed her on the forehead.  “I will find another way.”

The knock on the door was almost inaudible but Sam looked over as Dean opened it slowly, peeking his head around before ducking in, and closing it behind him.  He stood at the end of the bed, wiping his hands on his pants as he watched Beth lay there with her eyes closed.

“This bitch isn’t going away.”  Dean sighed, grabbing the footboard with both hands, “and you were right, I don’t trust her.”

“It has to be the three of us, Dean.”  Sam sighed and rested Beth’s hand on her stomach before he stood and walked to the end of the bed.  “We can’t let Karen, or Athena use her like that anymore. It’s killing her inside. I think something’s wrong with the ward.”

“Or there’s something wrong with us.”  Dean spoke up. “We’re supposed to be her protectors, Sam, and lately all I feel is that she’s protecting us.  She had that same blank look in her eyes when she shot off the gun, the same look as the night she took out that Gorgon.”  Sam glanced back over the sleeping girl. “We need to up our game.”

“How do we do that?”  

“For one, let’s get Becca on the phone and see what she has.”  Dean sighed and patted Sam on the arm before he left the room. Sam sat at the end of the bed, his elbows to his knees and folded his fingers together as he watched over Beth.

 

Dean held Beth’s phone and walked out just passed the Mustang to lean against the Impala.  With a press of a button, something he really wasn’t used to, he watched the screen light up as Becca’s number was dialed.  It rang three times before she picked up.

_ “What’s wrong, Dean?” _  He was always amazed that she knew it was him.   _ “Beth would have texted and Sam never calls.” _

“Oh,” he was relieved that she wasn’t secretly video calling him.  “We have an issue and I was hoping you would help.”

_ “I can try my best.” _  She cleared her throat and it sounded as if she were moving around books.   _ “What’s going on?” _

“We have Athena at the house and Ares on our tail, any way you could give us some intel on how to ward this place against one or both.  She’s taking Beth for a ride and it’s not a good thing.” Dean sighed.

_ “Athena is there?” _  The worry in Becca’s voice didn’t really make Dean feel any better about the situation.   _ “Have you tried to call on Hera?” _

“That’s the problem, I think Beth’s used too much power already, she seems to be going into these time lapses.  This morning she couldn’t remember stopping a bullet.” 

_ “That does sound like a problem.  Okay, bear with me while I check this out.” _  He could hear the flipping of pages as she put the phone on speaker and set it down on the table.   _ “Patron saint of heroic endeavors, Goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, yada, yada…here we go, does she have something against Sam?” _

“No, but Sam definitely has something against her, why?”  Dean looked up at the windows of the house, checking things out as he stood by the car, keeping vigilant. 

_ “Apparently Odysseus and Diomedes executed a plan to steal sacred image of Athena, a wood statue called the Palladium, protected the Trojans as long as they had it, and encouraged the Greeks in their hopes to end the long-suffering war _ .”  Becca sighed.   _ “Athena may not know that Sam is just who the Fates associate with Odysseus not the reincarnation of the man himself.” _

“She said it would take very little to get Beth angry enough to use her powers against Ares, and I’m pretty sure that going after Sam is going to piss Beth right off.”  Dean took a deep breath. “Sam is already resisting Athena even being here, I’m starting to agree with him that this is a bad idea. Beth needs a boost, an extra ward. Do you have anything?”

_ “I have an Eihwaz, it’s an old rune, adapted from Greek, it’s the closest thing I have at the moment. I’ll send a picture to Beth’s phone since you’re on it but Dean, you have to draw this on her chest, right above her heart.” _

“Yeah, Sam will really go for that.”  He mumbled and rubbed his forehead. 

_ “Then tell him to do it, but that’s where it has to go, even if you just use a marker to do it.” _  Becca listened to him sigh and she could hear his frustration.   _ “It’s been a lot the last few months, she will pull through and she will be stronger for it with the two of you by her side.” _

“I know.”  He whispered and smiled.  “Thank you.”

_ “Any time, hot-stuff!” _ She smiled and hung up the phone.  

Dean put the phone in his pocket and headed into the house where he ran up to the bedroom.  He knocked quietly on the door and slowly opened it to see Sam still sitting on the bed. Beth hadn’t moved and he closed the door softly behind him then handed Sam the phone.

“A Eihwaz?”  Sam whispered. “For protection and strength.”

“Becca said it has to go right above her heart.”  Dean replied as he fished through the drawers and found a black pen, handing that to him as well.   

Sam looked at the sleeping woman and debated before he walked over and unbuttoned the plaid shirt she had been wearing over her tank top.  He placed the phone up where he could see it and gently pressed the pen down on her skin. He carefully drew the symbol just as it was on the picture and watched as nothing happened.  He shook his head, looking up at Dean and suddenly, Beth drew in a deep breath, clutching her chest as she opened her eyes widely, but the blue that stared up at Sam was that of Hera, not Beth.

“What is this?”

“More protection.”  Sam stated, his emotions were very bland. Hera looked at the picture that Sam was showing her and then down at the mark that was now branded into her chest.  

“Athena is here?”  She questioned and both Dean and Sam nodded.  “You were right to add the protection, I will do what I can for her inside, to strengthen what I have done as well.  Athena will fight her brother to protect what she claims as hers but she will try to gather power as she does it. Beth is fighting the war inside her already.  I will do what I can, you have my word.”

Slowly, the light faded from her eyes and Beth looked up at them half awake.  “I need to get out of this house.”

“I agree.”  Dean spoke up and Sam turned to him. “We need some things at the store.”

“We do?”  Sam questioned and watched as Dean just gave him a look.  “Yeah, we need to stock up on a few things. I’ll take you into town, unless you want Dean to go.”

“No.”  Both answered at the same time and Beth smiled at Sam.

“Dean and I have decided that grocery stores and the two of us don’t go well together.”  Beth replied and Dean grinned. She kissed Sam gently on the lips as she got off the bed, then walked by Dean, taking the gun he held out to her with one hand and she held onto his fingers as long as she could while walking out the door before he looked over at his brother.

“Do I want to know what happened at the grocery store?”  Sam questioned and watched as Dean puckered his lips and shook his head, sticking his hands in the pocket of his jeans.  “What do we need there?”

“Anything, I don’t care what it is, just get her out of here.”  

“Good plan.”  Sam stood and went to walk by but he stopped for a moment, “should I be worried that you’re in a house alone with a supermodel Goddess?”

“Not unless you think ganking the bitch is an issue.”  Dean smiled sarcastically. “She’s messing with my Beth, and I’m not playing.”

“Good to know.” Sam smiled and Dean handed him the keys to the Impala. “Why are you letting me drive your car?”

“We were still working on the Fox this morning, and I want you two to be safe.”  He answered and watched as Sam nodded, before walking out the door. Dean watched out the window as Sam got behind the wheel and Beth winked up at him before she slipped into the passenger’s seat.

Dean walked down to the first floor and found Karen in the den where all of Beth’s grandfather’s books were.  She was flipping through an old edition of some demonology book when she closed it suddenly and turned to look at him.  

“You sent her off with just one of you?”  Karen questioned as Dean closed the door behind him, using just the heel of his boot.

“Sam’s a big boy, and more protective than I am, but let’s you and I have a little chat.  Take a seat.” He stated as he stepped behind the desk and made himself comfortable in the large chair.  Karen smiled, in the only way a Goddess knew how, cocky, as she took the seat across from him and crossed her legs.  “I want to know why you are here.”

“That’s simple enough, Beth is the last of the North Winds, she is protected in certain circles, one of them happens to be mine.”  Karen shrugged as she continued to look around. Dean shook his head, not believing her for a second and she stopped to glare at him.  “You think because my brother is coming to get her to kill her that we are all on the same side?”

“I would do anything for my brother, wouldn’t you?”  Karen smiled.

“Your love for your brother far exceeds the feelings I have for mine.”  She uncrossed her legs and sat forward in the chair, giving Dean a nice view down her unbuttoned shirt.  “Ares loves war, that’s all he loves. If given the chance he would do it without question twenty-four hours a day but here’s the problem, he expects us all to fight with him or for him, he doesn’t care which, because if you are not beside him, he can convince you to get in front of him, to be his shield.”

“So why not kill him?”

“He’s a God, if you can find a way, please let me in on it.  Just like me, he can switch bodies in an instant and you won’t know who he is.”  Karen stared deeply into Dean’s eyes, a look he was quite familiar with. 

“Then give me anything to put a stop to him coming after her.”  Dean watched as she rose and walked behind the desk, sitting down on the hard oak surface in front of him.  

“Hera and my father hate him, he’s a coward when it comes to injury.  The slightest scratch infuriates him and throws him off his game. Imagine,” she pulled a gun out from behind her back, but it wasn’t one of the ones he was used to seeing, this one was gold handled with a black barrel.  It looked like a Colt but was definitely something more, and the symbols that were drawn on it were like nothing he had seen before. “Imagine shooting him with this, olive bullets all specially crafted to hurt a God, and watching him flee in pain and humiliated because he was wounded by a mere mortal.”

“There’s a catch, isn’t there?”  Dean knew what was coming, it was the reason he stayed and sent Sam on his way.  There was only one way to get something from a Goddess.

“Isn’t there always.”  She smiled and hopped down from the desk, straddling his legs.  “The North Wind’s protector for just an hour, that would be the price.”

“And what would it do to me?”  He question. 

“Give into it and find out.”  She pressed her body against his and leaned down, kissing him heatedly on the lips.  Dean took a deep breath in and closed his eyes, the only thing he could think of was Beth, he had to protect Beth.

 

Beth’s eyes grew wide as she gripped the door of the Impala, and Sam turned quickly to glance at her. She could see what Dean was doing, knew his thoughts and his feelings and instantly found herself in the room at the house.  Dean opened his eyes and looked right at her as she stared at the two of them in her grandfather’s office chair.

Her lips were taut, in a disappointed frown but Dean’s eyes connected with her and he suddenly looked down at the table.  Beth followed his gaze to the gun that sat there and the frown became a smile as she reached out and grabbed it. It was cool in her hand, heavy as if she were really holding it, but light as a feather as she tucked it away with her other one.  

Before she disappeared she grabbed the Goddess by the back of her shirt and flung her across the room.  Karen looked up at Dean as he scanned the room, his arms stretched out as if he had no idea what was going on and she stood, leaving the room rather quickly.  Dean smiled, raised his arms behind his head and folded his fingers together, proud of what he had accomplished.

 

Beth glanced over at Sam, who had pulled over onto the side of the road to watch her.  She didn’t slump over like he did, in fact, she went into some sort of trance when she was projecting.  At first, seeing her like that had him worried, but he could follow her trail to the house and knew there was a reason she had disappeared.

She reached behind her back and pulled out the gun, smiling as she held it up so Sam could see it. “A present from your brother.”

“How did you bring it back with you?”  He asked as he took it in hand and looked over the writing.  “This is all in Greek.”

“And apparently something we can use to hurt Ares.”  Sam handed her back the gun, and she slipped hers into the glove box of the Impala, impressed with all of the badges and passports she saw there.  “You should really keep those in more of a contained place.”

“They were in the bunker in Kansas but some little snotty badass got herself arrested and called for help.”  He grinned and pulled the Impala out onto the road again. “So, is Dean trying to get dessert early?”

“Nah, I think he just used that to get me there.”  Beth smiled. “Have you ever seen a Goddess flying, it’s pretty impressive.”

“You have way too much fun with that projecting stuff.”  Sam smiled and turned back to the road. Beth shrugged and reached over, placing a hand on his knee.  “Hey now, I’m trying to drive here.”

“So am I.”  Beth winked and watched the smile and the redness spread across his face.  

She loved doing that to him, making him squirm but she knew he loved her attention.  She dreamed of Sam for fifteen years and to have him so close was fantastic and scary at the same time.  She was always in fear of losing him again, but she held onto the hope that this time it would last. 

 

The store was packed but no one seemed to notice the two hunters moving about their mists and that felt great to Sam. He was an unknown, normal in the world of unusual and he had Beth by his side, smiling as she picked out different things from the shelves.  They weren’t really there for anything special but he watched her move around, heading for the fresh herbs first. She always kept them in stock, whether it was because of Becca or just a habit, but he loved to watch her inspect them, smell them and put them back three times before deciding to grab a handful and stuff them in a plastic bag.

She grabbed nonsense things, like oatmeal packets and canned soup, some grated cheese even though the house was stocked and he followed a few steps behind just to smile at her.  The conversation was light and she seemed to enjoy the normalcy just as much as he did. They were nearly through the whole store, had a carriage full of items when the smile disappeared from her face. Sam could feel her heart rate rising as she stood at the end of the isle, he was still glancing over some sort of boxed dinner when he realized what was going on and he left the cart to run up to her.  

Standing near the entrance of the store was a man, just as tall as Sam but with certain features that just gave away everything about him.  He looked like a walking statue, perfectly carved and beautiful, just like Athena. Beth reached behind her and took Sam by the hand. The feeling of evil and anger washed over her and she knew that it had to be so much stronger for him, she just hoped her hold on him shielding him from some of it.

The man turned right to her, fixing his tie as he walked over, a smug grin on his face and he stopped, first staring at Sam, whose anger grew, then he looked down at the woman who stood like a wall between him and Sam.

“North Wind, and only one protector.”  His voice matched his arrogance and he gave a sly grin.

“Ares.”  She replied and felt Sam grasp the back of her shirt.  “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You stopped my bullet.”  He said curiously, but the smile never left his face.

“I’m not sure you can take credit for that, you didn’t fire it.”  Beth wasn’t trying to goad him on but there was something about the way that he looked at her that just made her want to punch him in that smug square jaw.  “We’re leaving.”

“Ah, and you must be Sam Winchester.”  He said and turned his gaze up to the meet Sam’s.  There was no looking down, no dominant stance, just an eye level staring contest.  “My, aren’t you a bold one.”

“You’re not going to win this war, Ares.”  Sam stated, his voice as firm as the God in front of him.  “And if you touch her, I’ll kill you.”

“You can’t kill a God, Sammy.”  Ares laughed and Beth felt the hand twist her shirt.

“Don’t call me that.”  He growled, the anger flaring in him.  Ares stepped closer, almost leaning over so that Beth disappeared between them.

“Did you know she thinks about your brother when the two of you are together, deep in the throws of passion?”  Ares whispered and Beth pushed at him to back him away as she felt the anger in Sam climbing to a dangerous level.  Sam clenched his teeth, his lips tightened into a fine line and he turned his head to stare at the man.

“Your petty tricks don’t work on me.”  He answered which got a maniacal laugh from Ares.  

“It’s not petty, if it’s true.”  Ares’ winked as he backed away, looking down at Beth.  “You should see her fantasies, they don’t have just you in them.”

“Come on, Sam.”  Beth pressed as she grabbed both his hands and moved to walk past Ares, but the man stepped in front of her and bent over at the waist so he could be at eye level with the woman.  “Get out of my face before I break yours.”

“We’ll meet again soon, North Wind, maybe next time, I’ll kill your boy-toys and show you what a real man can do for you.”  Beth released Sam before she knew what she was doing and punched him square in the face. Ares stood, his hand against his jaw and he smiled down at her.  “Keep that anger, we can use it when we play.”

Sam stepped forward, and the only thing that stopped him was bumping into the back of the woman before him.  Ares’s smiled at him as he turned and walked quietly out of the store, leaving Sam more heated than he had ever been.  Beth turned and looked down at her swollen knuckles before shaking her hand. It was the hard, angry look in Sam’s eyes that made her take his hand, leave their cart full of groceries and head for the car.  She dug in his pockets for the keys to the Impala before she pushed him to the passenger's side and closed the door behind him.

For a small girl in a big boat of a car, she turned that Chevy with ease and tore out of the parking lot.  She watched out of the corner of her eyes as Sam tried to hold in the anger, his fists clenching and unclenching as they rode along but Beth knew he needed to get it out.  Just ahead, off the dirt road was a small hidden field and she turned quickly into the thick covered drive where she pulled the car to a stop and watched him get out, slamming the door behind him.  Beth cut the engine, leaving the keys up in the visor and slowly made her way out to the front of the car.

“I could kill him.”  Sam grumbled as he walked back and forth.

“He’s a God, you can’t kill him.”  Beth whispered and watched as Sam walked up to stand in front of her.  His height was never an intimidation for her and she casually looked up at him.

“Not him.  Dean!” This got a look from Beth as she shook her head.

“He didn’t do anything.”

“You are always defending him.” Sam growled.

“And I’m always defending you,” she shrugged, “what difference does that make?”

“Do you?”

“Do I what, Sam?”  She knew what was coming, Ares had said the one thing that would get under his skin. “Do I think of him when we are together?” She watched his eyes grow full of fury.  “Ask me?” She watched as he rolled his neck, trying to stay calm. “If you want to know the answer, you’re going to have to open your big, stupid mouth and ask me yourself!”

“Do you think of being with him when you’re with me?”  Sam questioned, but the words came out more of a rumble from deep inside.  

Beth reached up suddenly, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down into a long, deep kiss that took even the most pissed off man by surprise.  When she backed away, he stared down at her. 

“You tell me.”  She answered and felt him grab her by the waist, hoist her up on the hood of the car and claim her lips like it was the last thing he might ever do.

Sam had her shirt in his hand and off before she could make a sound, so she followed suit, tugging the plaid shirt from his shoulders, and then she stripped off the tee-shirt he had been wearing.  Sam closed his eyes, his forehead against hers as his fingers traced over her body, feeling every curve and suddenly he picked her up, carrying her over to the back door of the Impala, which he opened and slid her into.  

Beth watched as he unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off, tossing them and the gun on the floor of the car before he crawled in and rested his weight between her legs, pinning her to the seat.  She could see the ferocity in his glare and closed her eyes as he once again pressed his lips to hers. He wasn’t gentle, not his normal self where he was afraid he might hurt her, but this time he was rough, and needing and she let him know that he didn’t have to treat her like a fragile object.

Her loud cries egged him on as her nails dug into his back and Sam’s deep-throated rumble in her ear sent goosebumps through her body, bringing her closer to the edge with him as he placed his forehead against hers and clenched his teeth.  She looked up into those blue-green eyes as he brought them both over the edge, his hand pulling the small of her back up to him as he sighed. 

For a while they just stared at each other, catching their breath as Sam propped himself up on his elbows and he shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak but Beth surprised him with a kiss.

“If you even say the words, I will kick your ass twelve ways til’ Sunday.”  She smiled against him and Sam nodded, understanding just what she was talking about.  

He wanted to stay there, wrapped up her forever but he slowly moved away, buttoning up the jeans that hung low on him and shivered at the cool air outside the car hit him.  Beth stretched out and watched him stand there glistening in the sunlight, shirtless. She licked her lips, feeling the swollen pressure of his still against hers and sent that feeling out towards him.  Sam gave her a crooked grin and shook his head.

_ “Never doubt,”  _ her voice invaded his mind and he looked at her once more, laying there on the backseat with her eyes closed, half dressed and disheveled.  He loved her, would always love her, but he still kicked himself for letting Ares fill him with anger.

He took the blanket from the floor and covered her with it as he felt her relax under his touch and slowly he moved to find his discarded shirt.  For a while he just stood there, against the trunk of the Impala, glancing in every now and then to see if she had stirred, but she had only gotten more comfortable, stretching her arms above her head.

Sam noticed the little red spots along her chest and neck where he had nipped at her a bit too hard and he let out a breath to calm his nerves.  The cell in his pocket vibrated against his skin and slowly he pulled it out to look at Dean’s number. With a quick tap, he put it to his ear.

“Yeah?”  he questioned.

_ “Are you two done having fun, because I could really use your help over here.” _  Dean snapped and Sam stood up straight.   _ “The Goddess of whatever the hell she’s doing is tearing up the house looking for something and she’s a little bitchy.” _

“We’ll be right there.”  Sam sighed and listen to him hang up the phone and he climbed into the car, Beth’s clothing in hand.  He kissed her softly on the cheek, which got a low moan from her and then harder on the lips and her eyes were instantly open as her hand reached up to grab his hair.  Beth smiled at him sleepily and then at the clothes in his hand and groaned. “Dean needs our help.”

“Dammit,” she whimpered.  “I wanted to do that again.” Sam smiled, and helped her with her shirt, stealing kisses as he went along but she stopped him when he handed her the jeans.  “I can do that on my own, or we are never getting back to the house.”

He backed out of the car and let her get dressed as he slid into the driver’s seat and grabbed the keys from the visor.  Once she was set, she climbed over the seat, snatching the gun from the floor and winked at him as she buckled the belt. 

“Home, James!”  She instructed and Sam gave her a sly smile as he pulled the car out of their little hidden area.  “What did Dean say?”

“Apparently, Athena is ripping the house apart.”  

“Must have noticed her toy was missing.”  She smiled and waved the gun. 

“You never did tell me how you brought it back with you.”

“Maybe I just have to be holding something to transport it.  I had it in my hand when I came back to my body, and then it was in my lap.”  Beth shrugged. “It’s awfully light for a gun.”

“Specially made?”

“Yeah, but there is something about it, something familiar.”  She held it tightly in her grip and closed her eyes, letting the feel of it take her back.  In her mind, she could see flashes of the gun in her tiny hand and could hear the sound it let off.  “I know where I’ve seen this before.” Beth turned in her seat and looked at him. “My grandfather used to take me out to the woods and we’d use it for target practice.  His other ones were too big for me to hold so this was the one he gave me, but I don’t remember the symbols being on it.”

“Is it possible that he did it after your father died, or just before he did?”

“It’s possible, he was pretty fluent in the mythology department.”  Beth sighed and tucked the gun away once again as they drove up towards the house.  When they parked the car, Beth couldn’t stop herself from taking a long look at Dean, who was leaning over tinkering around with the inside of the Mustang.  Sam turned off the car, a grin on his face as he watched her and she licked her lips, smiling in Sam’s direction. “I’m sorry, I know it looks bad, but you don’t see how I stare at you.”

Sam laughed as she slipped out of the car and made her way over to Dean, who wiped off his hands, kissed her on the cheek and turned to his brother as Sam slowly walked up to them.  

“I see you bought the whole store.”  Dean’s eyebrows raised, checking him for bags of groceries.

“We, ah, had a little run in with Ares.”  Sam answered and gave a peek at what Beth was now doing to the engine.  “He’s not going to be easy to deal with.”

“Why?”

“Sam when into full-on beast mode from just talking to the guy,” Beth added, and glanced over at the two of them, “we had to get him settled down before bringing him home.”  Dean’s expression was one of pure curiosity as he looked up at his brother, but the sly grin across Sam’s face was all Dean needed to know. “What did you do to my car?”

“I, ah, fixed the throttle, it’s where the timing was off.”  Dean replied, still looking at Sam. “You better not have gotten anything on my car.”

“My ass print is on your hood.”  Beth said as she walked between them, the smile disappearing from Dean’s face.  Sam just looked at her in shock as she headed towards the house before he turned back to Dean and shook his head.

“The car is fine.”  Sam answered and followed Beth into the house. 

“Son of a bitch!”  Dean mumbled and walked over to inspect the hood of the Impala.  As soon as he touched the car, he was drawn into the emotions surrounding it and with a few deep breaths, he pulled his hand away.  “Don’t worry, Baby, we’ll get you a bath.”

He shook his head, trying to clear the images and emotions from his mind as he headed up the stairs to find himself in the middle of a stand-off between Beth and Karen.  Sam stood not more than three feet from Beth but he was ready for any move the Goddess made.

“He knows where you are now, you brought him back with you!”  Karen snapped and paced and forth in front of the fireplace as Beth shrugged.

“He knew where we were before, he sent the man with the gun, remember.”

“We need to stop him before all hell rains down on this place.”

“And that’s where you come in, since you are the master strategist,” Beth came around the couch and stopped the woman from going any further.  “We need to draw him here, by any means necessary, but you have to be the one to protect us once he crosses the line.”

“What are you thinking?”  Karen was suddenly curious and she crossed her arms.

“A barrier spell, one that will keep him from coming on the property fully charged.”  Beth glanced back at Dean. “They won’t survive if he’s at full power and Ares won’t come after either of them if they go alone.”

“I can do that.”  Karen agreed and looked past her at Sam, “but I’ll need his help?”

“Why him?”  Dean questioned, stepping forward.  

“Besides Beth, who else has the knowledge of casting and mythology?”  She questioned. Dean knew just as much as his brother but she was right, Sam’s brain worked faster when it came to decoding the book stuff, especially Greek mythology.  “What do you say, Sam, are you game?”

“If it stops that son of a bitch, I’m all in.”  Sam agreed. Beth walked up to him, and placed a hand on his chest.  He looked down at her, smiling as he touched her cheek. “She won’t get to me, I won’t let her.”

“As soon as you feel anything, you come and get me.”  She whispered as Sam leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.  “I won’t let her hurt you.”

“I’ll be fine.”  He reassured her and stepped back.  Beth’s eyes filled with worry as Sam followed Karen down into the basement, before she turned to Dean and shrugged.

“Come on, there’s some stuff on the car we can work on.”  Dean smiled and nudged her out the door, patting her lightly on the bottom.  “And then you can wash that print off my car.”

“I’d be more worried about the backseat.”  She grinned up at him and watched him close his eyes, shaking his head.

“TMI.”  

 

Sam looked up at Karen, who was rummaging through the shelves of several of the cabinets before he turned back to the book in front of him.  A barrier spell that big would have to be carefully planned, not that they had that much time to work on anything but as she set canisters down on the table, Sam glanced up at them.     

“What does this do exactly?”  He questioned reading further down the page.

“It makes this place holy ground, something he can’t pass,” Karen yelled with her back to him, “at least during an act of war.”

“So he can’t come in here guns blazing?” She nodded in response and Sam leaned his elbow on the table before he rubbed his chin.  “Wait, what happens if he gets on the property?”

“For someone who is supposed to be so smart, you ask a lot of questions.”  Karen replied as she placed more stuff down beside him and Sam glanced over at her.  “This is everything, are you ready?”

“Yeah.” He replied and helped her stuff the supplies into the bags that sat beside him.  As he left the basement, he glanced around once more and shut off the light.

They passed Beth and Dean on the way to the edge of the driveway.  Dean was under the hood again and Beth sat in the driver’s seat but she turned as Sam walked by, making eye contact with him and watched as he winked, giving her an “all’s good” kind of smile.  He hiked the bag further up on his shoulder and followed her until she stopped by the edge of the driveway and looked out at the road. 

“We’re going to have to dig a line across the driveway and into the trees.”  Sam looked at her, the thought of going all the way back to the house for a shovel they could have gotten on the way by bothered him and he rolled his eyes. “it doesn’t have to be deep, just far enough down to cover the herbs.”

“Fine, we can used branches.”  Sam grabbed a few out of the pile beside the road. Apparently they were placed there when someone was doing upkeep after a storm and he handed a thick one to the woman beside him and the two of them started digging out a little trench no wider than two inches and no deeper than three. “Now what?”

“Take each herb and spread it across the line, one at a time.  I need to carve symbols in the trees on each side.” 

Sam nodded and followed instructions but he could hear the humming in his head. He had a smile on his face as he listened.  “Are you humming “Patience”?” 

_ “It helps me relax.” _  Beth whispered to him.

“After earlier, I thought you would be totally relaxed.”  He grinned as he thought about their romp in the car.

_ “Yeah, we might have to revisit that spot again.” _  Beth’s good mood washed over him, but there was tickle on the edge of his mind, his brother was laughing, which meant that he must have been able to connect with them.  _ “Dean’s not happy with the images you’re passing a long.” _

“Tell Dean he can bite me.”  Sam laughed, spreading the last of the herbs.

Karen stepped out of the woods and looked at him as he started to cover the line with the dirt they had pulled out.  She stopped for a moment and watched him as he continued to smile.

“Your connection with them is very strong.” She stepped up to Sam and watched as his smile faded the closer she got.  “I could use that power, Sam. We could be so much stronger, the four of us together.”

“I don’t think so.”  Sam replied, stepping back as she placed her hand on his chest.  Just as she took that last step to close the distance, Sam made out the distinct sound of the hammer of a gun clicking back into place.  He glanced over at the blue-eyed woman who stood less than twenty feet from them. “She doesn’t think so either.”

Karen pivoted and stared at the new arrival, who pointed the gun straight at the Goddess’ heart. Beth raised an eyebrow and gave her a cocky grin as Sam moved to stand by her side. Dean stepped around the corner, his hands in his pockets and shook his head.

“You should really try to not piss off a North Wind.” Dean laughed, and looked at Karen whose smile had faded.  “She’s a wily little thing and she’s usually on your ass before you know what’s going on, especially if it has to do with my brother.”

“You can’t shoot me,” Karen spoke up, “you need me to finish the spell.”

“You already sealed it.”  Sam shrugged, as he stepped closer to Beth, “you see, you were right, I’m really good at casting and mythology, but I’m even better at reading bullshit when I hear it.  You didn’t need me to help, you wanted to separate us to see if you couldn’t get just one of the three to cooperate with your plans.”

“Which are?”  She asked as if she were innocent to everything he was saying.

“Wedge something between us, divide our powers so that you can take some for yourself.”  Dean shrugged. “You know, it would have worked on most people, but we’ve been at this a long time and we have our own way of figuring out just what people, or things are up too.”

“First, it was the bullet,” Beth spoke up, giving the gun a wave.  “I knew there was something about the magic coming off from it that didn’t make it feel like Ares was the one that took a swing at us.”

“Then it was the gun, and the way you came on to Dean,” Sam added, and glanced down at the gun in Beth’s hand, “Dean wouldn’t fall for a giving in to a Goddess just because she offers him a toy, but you had to try anyway, which meant, you were letting him in on a secret.”

“Anything you do to a protector, you do to a North Wind.”  Beth smiled, “and that’s not going to happen. Dean knew what he was doing from the start.  He knew I would come and he knew he could get me that gun.”

“You have this all figured out, don’t you?”  Karen laughed as she shook her head, crossing her arms.  “You have no idea how to fight Ares.”

“Oh we do.”  Dean grinned.  “We know all too well just what will set a brother off enough to get him to cross the line.”

“We use his sister.”  Beth shrugged as she waved the gun and Karen rolled her eyes.  

She walked beside Dean as Beth and Sam trailed behind, the gun still locked and loaded and once at the house, they made their way to the basement, where Dean had snuck away to set up the rune trap that Becca had instructed him on.  Karen was tied to a chair, surrounded by ancient lettering, in the middle of the basement. 

Beth leaned against the counter, her arms and ankles crossed as she tapped the gun against her arm.  The safety was back on and she had released the hammer but as she eyed the Goddess, she couldn’t’ help but think about her next move.  Sam stood beside her as Dean kept moving about the basement, preparing things.

“You’re thinking again.” Sam whispered against her ear as she continued to stare.

“You’re going to have to stay here.”  She replied, looking up at him. Sam sighed and rubbed his forehead.  “It’s nothing against you, Sam, but I need someone to recite that spell if she won’t do it and you know your tongue is better than Dean’s.”

“Hey!” Dean spoke up from the backside of the room.  “How would you know? You’ve never used it.”

“Smartass!” She retorted, giving him a dirty look before she looked up at Sam once more.  “I’ve heard his Latin, and there is no way he would be able to pull of Greek.”

“Listen, Munchkin,” Dean said with all seriousness in his voice as he walked up to her.  Beth waited and he pointed a finger as he thought for a moment before redirecting his gaze at his brother, “she has a point.”

“What are you going to do?”  Sam questioned.

“Drive like the God of War is chasing you.”  Dean smiled and grabbed the keys off the counter. Beth wiggled her eyebrows at him and the three made their way upstairs.  

“How do you even know where Ares is?” Sam watched as Dean looked back and forth between the cars.

“We’re taking the Fox.” Beth gestured towards her car.  “It’s lighter, faster and a hell of a lot better on these dirt roads than your baby.”

“You don’t think she can take it?”  Dean was taken aback with her suggestion.

“Would you like pits in your car from the rocks that this road kicks up?”  She smiled and watched as he thought for a moment before he turned towards the Mustang.  Beth looked up at Sam, placing a hand on his chest. “Believe it or not Hera is going to help point me in the right direction.  She’s not going to take over, but with her help, I can feel where he is. We’ll be fine, Sam, and I know you will be right here when we get back.”

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he took a few deep breaths and leaned down to kiss her forehead.  “I still don’t like it, but go do what you need to and hurry back.”

“I love you.”  She smiled and kissed him quickly as she ran over to the purring car.  She slid into the passenger seat and Dean revved the engine, pulling out of the driveway. Sam ran his hands through his hair, watching them go and he could feel his heartbeat quicken.  

“I love you too,” he whispered.

 

Dean could only get glances of Beth’s face as she stared out the window but he knew what she was feeling. There was a sense of dread that flowed from her and he took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze just as he stopped at the end of the road.

“He’ll be fine.”  Dean whispered, seeing her nod as she cleared her throat.

“Hera says to head west on the road, opposite direction of town.” 

Dean turned the wheel and the drove in silence towards whatever awaited them.  Dean slowed the car to a rolling stop as they watched the dark clouds closing down on them.  Beth sat forward, glancing up at the sky as it became clear this was nothing natural. Dean shook his head and both watched as the fire blazed out of the darkness.  On a bright white chariot with two flaming horses stood the man from the grocery store, behind him was an army of men, or at least they looked like men, but their eyes blazed a bright red.

“This can’t be good.” Dean mumbled as the horses began to stomp the ground.  

“Turn it, Dean!”  She could see the smile on Ares’ face as he noticed the car.  “Turn it now!” Dean put the car in reverse and spun it around as Beth swung around to look out the back of the car. He floored the pedal as he shifted and as soon as the car kicked up the stones, the horses were out of the gate. “Sam,” she said out loud, connecting to him, “we’re coming at you.”

 

Sam untied Karen and brought her up to the driveway where they stood and waited.  Sam could feel the two of them approaching, he knew they weren’t far off and he turned to the woman beside him.

“Right now would be great time chose a side.”  He stated as she crossed her arms, and stood watching the road.  “You know he’s under a spell, you know someone is controlling him.  Athena, listen to me, we know you love your brother and you would do anything to save him, but serving up Beth to whatever power has him under their control is not the right thing.  Think about it.”

The woman before him changed, and she became the Goddess in the painting, covered in full body armor and as beautiful as ever. She understood what Sam was saying, in fact, she had watched the way they were in the basement, it was the way she was with her family, her brother and she needed to protect him.

“I won’t let you kill him,” she stated, “but I will help you stop him.”

“Good,” Sam pointed out towards the driveway, “because they’re coming this way.”

 

The Mustang flew around the corner of the shoddy paved back road, its tires screeching as it took the curve with Dean at the helm.  Beth sat turned in the bucket seat on the passenger’s side watching the flaming black horses that pulled the chariot of War behind them.  She could see him up on that chariot, his arrogant smile still mocked her while the spear Ares held in his hand was aimed right at the car as Beth patted Dean on the arm.

“Drive faster.”  She shouted over the roar of the engine.

“Any more and I’m going to blow the engine.”  Dean growled, pushing her hand off his shoulder as he shifted into fifth and the car sped up.  

“The button under the dash, hit the button!”  She yelled as she watched Ares pull his arm back, the hordes of riders screaming behind him, ready to follow him into this war, whatever it might be for.

“What the hell does the button do?”  Dean hollered back and watched as she buckled her seat belt.

“It’s a turbo.”  She announced and grabbed the cell off the console, speed dialing Sam.  Without waiting for a hello, she held the phone on speaker away from her face.  “I hope you’re ready, Sammy, we’re coming in blazing.”

“A turbo.”  Dean mumbled, fumbling with his own belt as she reached over and finally locked it for him before he pushed the button.  He could hear the engine wind up and suddenly the Fox took off like a bat out of hell. “WOOH!”

_ “What was that?” _  Sam questioned.

“Dean just got a taste for speed, that’s all.”  She laughed as she watched the distance she they started to put between the car and the rider.  “Is everything set because I don’t know if we’re going to be able to slow down and give you time.”

“Yeah, yeah. She says it’s all set.  Lead them straight through the gates.”  Beth hung up the phone and turned in the seat once more, watching as the bridled horses began to gain. 

“Come on, Foxy, you can do this.”  She whispered as she pressed a hand on the dashboard of the car.”

“This engine isn’t going to last, Beth.”  Dean warned as he looked at the gauges. 

“Punch it, Dean. Give it all he’s got because right now, it’s us or them and they’re gaining pretty fast.”  She braced herself as he grasped the wheel to take the corner at breakneck speed, the Fox doing its best to stay on the road. 

“Duck!”  She screamed as the spear came flying at them, breaking out the back window. She raised her hand, stopping it from hitting the windshield and Dean glanced over at the red hot tip of the head, and the concentration on Beth’s face as the blood dripped from her nose.  “Here’s a present for you!” 

She mumbled as she sent the spear back towards Ares, just as hard as he had sent it forward and watched as it struck one of the horses. It only dazed the horse, who let out an angry scream and Beth watched at it appeared in his hand again. 

_ “Sam!” _ she yelled as her mental connection slammed against his.   _ “Get ready.” _

“One more corner, hang on!”  Dean instructed and pulled the wheel as he shifted to make the small fox-body drift around it. He could see the home stretch and debated on whether to slow down or keep the pedal locked to the floor.  Beth glanced at him and shook her head. She knew what he was thinking and she wanted to keep going.

“Tell me,” he whispered to her over the roar of the turbo. Beth licked her lips and waited for that straightaway before she kissed him wholeheartedly on the lips.

“I love you.”  Dean stared into her blue eyes for only a second before he glanced at the gauge, 138 mph, they weren’t stopping safely and he turned back to her.

“Beth, I love you, I always have.” He admitted.  “With every ounce of my being! Now sit your ass down, this isn’t going to be pretty.”

Beth looked at him in fear as she sat back and braced herself as she could see the driveway straight ahead.  They passed through the protection barrier just as Dean started to downshift the car and he flipped off the turbo. It was too much for the small car to take and the backend skidded out, fishtailing the car around and suddenly, she felt it leave the ground for only a second and then the roof smashed against the asphalt.  

She breathed through the next few seconds, imagining a white light around her and Dean and the car tumbled twice before landing on the roof, glass and metal flying.  Beth could hear Sam screaming but her eyes were focused on that space between the trees as the horses came flying at the barrier. A bright, white light blinded her the second the chariot hit the protection spell and she felt a hand on her right arm.  

Dean unbuckled himself as he kicked open the driver’s side door, he knew Beth had kept them both from being crushed in the roll-over but he could sense her fading and need to get her out.  He could feel the blood on his forehead, the glass in his hair as he crawled from the wreckage and Sam met him on Beth’s side, pulling at the door.

“Beth!”  Sam whispered as she stared off at the now empty space where the riders had been.  Dazed she turned to him. “Beth, come on, we have to get you out of there.”

Both men pulled on the door before Dean reached in and slit the seatbelt with his knife.  Her body relaxed as they pulled her gently through the window and set her up against the crushed remains of her car.

“Well that was totally anticlimactic.” She mumbled and watched as her vision blurred.  “Did we get them?” She asked, looking over at Dean.

“Yeah, we got em’ Kid.”  He smiled and kissed her on the forehead, hugging her close.

“They’re not gone yet.”  Karen spoke up, standing next to Sam as she looked out at the barrier, before leaning down to Beth.  “Heal yourself, North Wind, this isn’t going to be an easy task.”

“Staying conscious isn’t an easy task at the moment either.”  She mumbled but felt both Sam and Dean grab her hands. “Are you two sure, this is going to take more than a little bit of your energy?”

“Do it, Beth.”  Sam pleaded and she glanced at Dean, who nodded before she closed her eyes.

The heat was tolerable but as the energy flowed to and from the men beside her, she could feel every injury healing at a painful speed.  Things that would have itched for weeks were burning as they sealed shut, internal bleeding felt like skin being sucked into a vacuum and the rips in her skin felt like super glue ripping the hair from her head, but when she opened her eyes, she felt nothing. There was no pain as she turned to look at Dean.

Releasing both of their hands, she quickly grabbed Dean’s face, inspecting where the cuts from the glass used to be.  

“How do you feel?”  She whispered and watched as he gave her a smile.

“That was the most unpleasant thing I have ever had to do.”  He laughed as he took her hand and kissed the palm. “But I’m fine.”  

Beth turned to Sam who looked confused as his eyes darted between the two of them and she reached out, his arms wrapping around her.  Sam closed his eyes tightly, holding her body to him as he kissed her cheek and neck.

“Scare me again like that, Little Girl, and I swear…” he mumbled, holding back his emotions as Beth backed away and looked in his eyes.

“You’ll what? Kill me?”  She played and kissed him passionately on the lips.  Dean looked away, a smile on his face as Sam broke the kiss and checked her over.

“Either that or tie you up and never let you out of my sight.”  He whispered against her ear as he pulled her close again.

“That could be fun.”  Beth chuckled but her smile faded as she looked at the spot where the barrier held.  She released Sam and stood, placing her body between him and the man standing firmly at the line, spear in hand.  “It’s over, Ares!”

“War is never over, my friend.”  He smiled. He was a handsome devil.  A sculpted Greek God was not even the words she would use to describe him.  He was perfect in every way, even with death in his eyes. “Come out here, North Wind, so I can finish my task.”

“You’re under a spell, Brother!”  Karen stepped up beside Beth, protecting the two men behind them.  “You need to fight it.”

“There is no spell, Sister, I go where war takes me.”  He answered, growling like a rabid dog.

“This is not war, this is human life.”  She pleaded but watched as he picked up the spear and twirled it in his hand.  The tip became so hot that it blazed like fire. 

“It’s all the same.” He mumbled and threw the spear, which missed the four of them completely and headed straight for the house.  Ares watched as Karen turned to him, the shock and horror in her eyes as the spear pierced through the living room window. “Goodbye, sister.”

As the house exploded, Beth watched as the Goddess disappeared in a white hot flash. With her magic gone there was nothing holding the man at the barrier and he stepped forward, a sword in hand.  The boys had pulled her down to cover as the wood and glass rained down from the inferno that used to be her family home. One more place was lost and she slowly stood, reaching behind her to pull the gun from the back of her jeans.

“You’ve destroyed my home, you killed your own sister.”  She yelled as she took several steps towards the oncoming man.  “You may be under some witch’s spell but I will be damned if I let that go unpunished.”

“Your men will not protect you.” Ares snarled as he stopped no more than ten feet in front of her.  

“I’m a big girl,” she answered, giving him a sly grin, “I can take care of myself.”

“And what of your protectors?”  He raised his eyebrows. “Do they need you to keep from killing each other?”

Beth turned and stared as Dean and Sam now stood toe to toe with anger and bloodlust in their eyes, but she could feel them fighting inside, feel their connection to her as she kept her cool, so did they.

“No, they’re Winchesters, they’ve got it sorted.”  She raised the gun up as he drew his sword. “You and I on the other hand, I think we need to have a little one on one.”

“You’ll never beat me, Girl.”  Ares laughed.

“I don’t need to beat you,” she whispered, and cocked back the hammer, “I just need to shoot you.”

With that the gun blasted, sending the olive bullet soaring in his direction.  Ares was shocked, never expecting her to fire and she waited, watching as it struck home, right in the middle of his chest, where his bullet had stopped spinning on Dean earlier that day.  Beth lowered the gun, as the God looked up at her, angry but not moving.

“You see these ones don’t kill you, nothing will kill a God, except another God.”  She shrugged. “These ones just burrow deep inside you, forever.”

“I will get my revenge on you, North Wind.”  He roared as he clenched his fists.

“Get in line.”  She turned and walked towards the boys, who stood looking over at her, the spell on them broken as Ares screamed in pain.  The blinding light flashed and she knew that there was nothing left to fear, nothing more for her to do. Ares was gone and she took a deep breath. “Like I said, totally anticlimactic.”

Sam pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as Dean looked over the flaming wreckage of the house.  The fire trucks could be heard as they came screaming down the road and Beth looked down at the pile of metal that was once her car.

“Jesus, what did we do?”  She whispered as she slipped from Sam’s arms and knelt down beside the car.  With a sigh, she turned and placed her back against the quarter panel, pulling her knees up as she ran a hand through her hair.  “It’s all gone.”

Dean glanced up at his brother as the trucks turned down the lane, filling up what little space there was on the lawn as the men scrambled about to get the fire out before it spread.  It wasn’t long before the police arrived and questions were asked about the car, which was “blown over” in the explosion since the Impala was parked in a safe area away from the house.  

Neither of them could help her, as she went through the motions of explaining that they were out and had just gotten back when the whole thing just went up, that the car had been lifted in the updraft and flipped, but no, no one was hurt.  

Sam could feel her from where he stood against the trunk of the Impala and as she walked over, the only thing he could offer was his arms.  They were free to go, but not leave the state. Sam let Dean take over as he felt Beth trembling and let them know that they were intending on staying at the motel in town.  With permission, they backed the Impala out of the driveway and headed into town. Beth lay her usual way across the backseat of the car, watching the lights flash by.

Inside the room, she flopped down on the bed and curled up with the pillow, but she knew she would never make it very far before one of them would be by her side.  It was Sam this time that curled up behind her, molding his body to hers as he enveloped her with his arms, but Dean wasn’t far away. He waited until the two of them were comfortable and he fit himself on the empty spot, lying down with his arms behind his head as Beth reached out and put a hand on his stomach.  She needed them close, and they knew it. Dean took her hand in his and held it gently as the night dragged on.

 

The morning sun filtered through the curtain and Sam tried to focus his eyes, coming face to face with Dean.  He sat up quickly and turned to see Beth at the window. He stood, stretching and watched as she peeked in his direction.

“What are you doing up?”  He asked softly, placing his hands on her hips as he walked up behind her.

“Just sorting some things out.”  She smiled up at him. “Talked to the Chief, and the fire is going to be ruled a gas leak, since flaming God spears is not covered in my homeowners insurance.”  Beth shook her head. “The Fox is being towed to a place just north of here in Monson, I know a guy who will keep the trunk contents safe until I can get in with the jaws and open it up.”

“So what’s your plan of action now?” Beth stepped away from him and picked up the duffle that she had gotten out of the trunk of the Impala.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” she shrugged, “when Sleeping Beauty wakes up, I think I know of a place we can hide out for a little while longer, small place about six hours north of here.” 

“Sounds great.”  Sam watched her start to walk by but he took her hand.  “You still have us.”

“I will always have you Sammy,” she grinned, and it was honest and loving, “there’s no way I’m letting go of either of you.  Ever. So get used to it.” 

A smile spread across his face as she winked at him and made her way towards the bathroom, where she closed the door tightly behind her.

 


	10. Home sweet...Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a case brings up memories that Beth rather repress, and a visit from the man who helped make two years of her life a living hell, she has no choice but to tell the brothers exactly what happened.

Home Sweet…Hell

SPNFanfic #10

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Crowley and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

This job was going to take all she had to make it through. Apparently people were disappearing at an alarming rate in an old industrial town close to the border of Lake Champlain. They were the first ones to find the oddities in the story, so there they were, combing through piles of dusty, damaged hallways to find whatever the hell it was that was creating the issue.

The building was abandoned, but not lifeless, at least not that Beth could feel.  She knew that Dean was on the floor below her and Sam on the floor above, but that wasn’t the kind of life she meant.  There were things here that just couldn’t be seen, they could only be felt. With the Colt aimed at the ready, an iron blade at her side, she pressed her back against the wall and turned another corner.

Her heart thumped painfully against her ribs, as she rounded the bend and her eyes met with the gruesomeness of what was in front of her.  Blood caked the walls and the floors, some had even splashed to the ceiling, dripping down in puddles like a leaky faucet, but as she stepped around the blood spatter, she knew what lie ahead.  With a deep breath, in through her mouth, trying to get passed the nauseous odor of decay, Beth stopped once more at the door to her right. 

She could hear the boys, pinpoint where they were in the building, and she turned to look into the room she stood beside.  Body parts lined the floor as crimson walls oozed with gore, and her heart sunk again, flashes came at her faster than she could handle and she backed out quickly. 

Trying to control the memories, just for a second, leaned her head back to say a prayer.  To Cas, to whatever higher power she was protected under, she didn’t care, because the prayer went out.  That was when she felt it, the drop of blood that dotted her forehead, something that had come down from the ceiling and she opened her eyes.

Whatever the hell it was, it was nasty looking. She imagined the monster from Resident Evil, the damned video game she had caught herself playing years ago.  It had no eyes, a wide grinning mouth full of teeth and a long tongue that darted out at her, like a snake looking for its food. She fired once, upwards towards its head but it scurried along the tiles as she followed it down the hallway.  

She slipped once on a large puddle of sticky, coagulating goo and found herself covered in it.  Her mind flashed back to a time that she had hoped to forget but it was just for a split second before she regained her posture and moved on after it.  Sam met her at the corner and gestured in the direction it had headed.

“What the hell is that?”  She whispered as she watched the front and he had her six.  “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“Neither have I,” he replied and peeked cautiously into room.  “Where the hell is Dean?”

Three shots fired ahead and the two of them made a break for the sound, only to find Dean against the wall, the monster coming right at them.  Sam fired on it, diverting its attention as Beth tossed the long, silver blade that was tucked in the back of her belt in Dean’s direction. He let it hit the floor, ducking down to avoid the gun fire, and scooped it up.  

As the creature slinked in Sam’s direction, Beth unsheathed the iron blade; she circled to the other side, trapping it in a triangle.

“You do remember how to kill this thing, right?”  Sam questioned, looking up at his brother for just a second.

“You’re the expert on all things fugly, you tell me.” Dean snapped and gave his brother a wink.  Beth knew there was no way she was going to take it down and glanced up at the man across from her.  Sam fired again, getting its attention as Dean and Beth switched blades.

“Any time there, Cowboy!”  Sam growled as the claws it swung drew inches closer.  Dean gave him a sly grin, twisting the handle of the blade twice in his hand before he lifted it over his head.

“Giddy-up!”  He laughed as he swung down the sharpened blade, just as the monster turned its sites on Beth. As the head rolled across the floor, Beth wiped the blood from her face and sighed at Dean, who shrugged.  “Sorry.”

“Let’s just get out of here.”  She sighed, rubbing her already bloody sleeve across her face and she stepped past Sam.  Dean walked up to his brother, who finally lowered the gun and looked up at him.

“Cowboy?”  Dean questioned and watched Sam give him a crooked smile.

“It sounded good at the time.”  With that the two of them followed the petite woman out of the building.  

Dean watched Beth pull the extra clothes from the car and a towel.  Sam noticed the change in her as well but said nothing as he grabbed his bag and unbuckled his jeans.  Beth pulled the blood-soaked shirt from her jeans, then off over her head.

“Whoa, whoa, now.” Dean laughed as she stood there in her bra and jeans looking at him with irritation, “do you always strip in front of two guys?”

“Dean,” she whispered and stepped closer, covering the distance between them as he looked up at Sam, whose only response was to smile, “I’m covered in blood and there is no way I’m walking into THAT building AGAIN to change, so you have two choices.  Look away or look at my boobs. Knock yourself out.” 

“Well, if you insist.”  He grinned and Beth rolled her eyes, walking away from him.  Sam could only laugh as he doused the towel she tossed at him with some bottled water, then poured some over her arms.  “Okay, now bottle bathing is where I draw the line.” 

Dean turned around and pulled his own shirt off as he listened to Sam give her directions.

“Give me your arm,” Sam whispered, a smile in his voice, and Dean could only image her shaking her head, “Beth, just give me your arm.”  Again she refused, this time with a little “ut-uh”, and Dean couldn’t help but imagine what was going on behind him. “Okay, you asked for it.”

Beth let out a bloodcurdling scream that had Dean, bare chested, swinging around on his heels, only to see Beth standing there, completely drenched in the water from the plastic gallon jug that Sam held above her head.                                                                                                                        

She grabbed the towel from the younger Winchester, lightly punching him in the gut and rubbed the blood from her face.  Dean stood there, wide-eyed at the soaking wet woman, but suddenly heard Sam clear his throat. Dean shrugged at him but Sam’s eyes lowered quickly.  Dean peered down himself and noticed the state of his condition, quickly turning back to finish what he had started, changing.

Beth complained under her breath as she shivered, drying off with a clean towel.  Sam, who had the least amount of blood and the fewest items to change, started a fire and as each piece was removed and passed over, he tossed them in the fire.  Beth stood, wrapped one of Sam’s large shirts and had a pair of Dean’s jeans on with the waist and legs rolled. Her hair was starting to dry but she couldn’t fight off the shiver that ran through her.

“We need to get out of here.”  She mumbled as she walked over to the Impala and climbed in the back.  

Sam raised his eyebrows, staring at Dean over the fire. “Dude, you have to do something about that.”

“About what?”  Dean asked curiously.  Sam cocked his head to the side and watched his brother’s face change to acknowledgement.  “Yeah, I was going to head out tonight to grab some pie.”

“Is there anyway the two of you can stop referring to it like that?”  Dean laughed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“As soon as she does, I will.”  He gave Sam a wink and headed to the car, but stopped and glanced back at his brother.  “Listen, while I’m out, I’m going to check into a few of the things we talked about the other night.”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded, “that would probably be a good idea.”

“You coming?” Dean questioned as he opened the door and Sam, who gave one last peek at the remains of the fire, headed towards his side of the car.

It screeched off into the night, the backseat passenger felt the sense of dread that hung in the air slowly leave her body.                                             

 

The sun was just coming up over the horizon and the field that lay over the bunker was filled with fog, giving it an eerie look, something right out of the horror movies, but it didn’t bother Dean in the slightest.  He had only returned a few hours before, catching some sleep in the backseat of the Impala so as to not wake the sleeping couple inside but he could feel Beth stirring as he stepped out of his car.

Dean looked over the modified 2010 Mustang GT that sat next to his Impala.  He just couldn’t get past the point that she had bought another Ford, but his biggest concern at that moment wasn’t the car, but large trucks that were backing into the empty field in front of him.  He leaned against the car, facing the small shack as Beth stepped outside its wooden walls. She walked up to him, handed him a cup of coffee and then made herself comfortable against his chest, back to him.  Dean took a sip of the hot liquid and draped his arm around one of her shoulders before placing his hand on the other, gently rubbing her upper arm.

“A house?”  He mumbled as he watched the two piece of it pull in. 

“It’s called a modular home.”  Beth laughed as she tilted her head back to peek her head up at him. “And we really need one. It’s been a month and the sheriff has been out here twice.  Three people, two men and me, in a small shack is getting some attention that we don’t need.”

“Yeah, home sweet home, until some God blows it up.”  Dean rolled his eyes as he felt her elbow against his ribs.  “Hot coffee here.” He warned and Beth smiled. “I guess I’m just not used to the Apple Pie life.”

“Speaking of pie,” she grinned, “you were out until the wee hours of the morning. What was your flavor this time?”

Dean coughed on the sip he took and kissed her on the cheek.  “Why should I tell you? Are you going to get all clingy about it?”

“Depends on the flavor of the day, because,” she turned and looked up at him, setting her mug on the hood of the car as his arm moved down to hug her waist, “if you ever say cherry, I will cut off your dangly bits.”

“Woman, you need to get some anger management classes.”  He grinned and kissed her forehead, and let her turn in his arms again.  “Lemon,” he replied and felt her giggle as his hand pressed against her stomach.  “I had to go out of town, which was why I was out so long. I won’t do it again, I promise.”

Dean leaned down and kissed her neck as Beth shivered.  “You don’t have to promise me anything, Dean, your needs come first in that department.”

“Good, I’m glad we agree on that part, because watching you and Sam might make me sneak away more often.”  He felt her relax against him as he placed his chin against the top of her head and the two of them watched as they began to move the house into place.  “Do you think it will be big enough?”

“Three bedrooms, two full baths, kitchen, dining room, den, great view of the sun coming up in the east, and hidden entrance to the bunker,” Beth smiled, “I think it’s going to be perfect.”

Sam stepped out of the shack, shrugging on his coat and he looked over at the two of them, smiling before he shook his head at the entourage of trucks that were pulling in.  He sighed as he leaned against the car next to Dean and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“Do you think it’s going to be big enough?”  Sam asked and Beth couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m not building a three-story Victorian, if that’s what you’re asking,” Beth replied as she reached out and stuck her hand in Sam’s coat pocket, tucking her fingers between his.  Sam watched the grin form on Dean’s face as he sipped his coffee. 

“Get out of my head, man,” Sam laughed and Dean just looked down in his cup, “seriously.”

“You project too much, Sammy, and I thought you two would have taken care of that last night.  I did give you the whole morning to yourselves.” The older brother laughed and Beth looked up, glancing back and forth between them.                                                                                                                                                   

“What’s going on?”  She questioned, as if she hadn’t heard the conversation, which only got a shrug from both of them.  “Ugh!” She groaned and stepped away. “We really need a lead, or you two are going to drive me to drink.”

Dean watched as she grabbed her cup and headed back towards the shack, which got a swift backhand against the chest from Sam as he caught his brother’s thoughts.

“I thought you took care of  _ that. _ ” Sam groaned.  

Dean just gave a light shrug.  “Hey, you can’t blame a guy for admiring when a beautiful woman walks away.”

“What did you find out?”  Sam whispered as Dean waited for her to disappear behind the door before he turned to his brother.

“Cas caught a lead.”  Sam raised an eyebrow, waiting on Dean to continue.  “Most of the activity is centered here, in Northern New York.  He’s had eyes out everywhere but the only thing they’ve come up with is a place near Niagara.  He says it’s crawling with East Wind demigods.”

“What would the East Winds have against Beth, she’s the last of her kind?”  Sam questioned.

“Beats me, I don’t even know what an East Wind is.”  Dean grumbled and glanced over at the construction taking place.  “Maybe it’s like Oz, good and bad, you know, like the witches.”

“That would make sense, I guess.” 

“Still doesn’t tell us why.”

“Maybe Cas will come up with more information.” Sam shrugged, sighing.  “She’s right, though, we need to follow a lead, or something. We’ve got to get her out of here and do something. Her thoughts keep going back to that night with Ares, it’s not good, Dean.”

“So, let’s call a witch up and see if we can’t track something down for her to do.” Dean gave Sam a sly grin and watched at the younger brother nodded.

 

Becca’s cell phone vibrated against the tabletop.  She knew they would call, it was only a matter of time, but the fact that they had picked this particular moment just through her off.  She pushed the accept button and put it on speaker.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?”  She was a little nervous as she looked at her guest.

 

Sam and Dean exchanged looks as Sam held the phone up while on speaker.  “Is this a bad time?”

_ “I have company.” _  Becca answered, but paused before she said anything else.   _ “Is Beth okay?” _

“Besides itching for a fight, she’s fine,” Dean spoke up, “what about you?  You okay?”

_ “The company is a little unexpected but I was going to call anyway.  Would you three mind coming over, there’s something we need to talk about.”  _

Dean looked up at Sam, not at all liking the tone of her voice.  “Of course, we’ll be right over.”

_ “Good, see you soon.” _  With that she hung up the phone and the screen darkened.

“Something’s up.”  Sam acknowledged.

“Yeah, she never says goodbye.”  Dean watched as Sam ran to get Beth and the three of them made their way into town in the Impala.  Beth danced in the backseat as she listened to the music in her head, but she stopped as soon as they pulled up to Becca’s place.  Dean watched her through the rear-view. “Something wrong?”

“It’s an oddly familiar feeling.”  She said as they got out of the car.  Beth stood on the sidewalk at the bottom of Becca’s stairs as the boys ventured up.  She couldn’t place where it was coming from but she knew that it was definitely something she dealt with before.

 

Sam stopped, almost bumping into the back of Dean, as he kept his eyes on the pair of sneakers at the bottom of the stairs but when he looked up, he realized what had made Dean stop in his tracks.  There, sitting in one of Becca’s kitchen chairs, in a designer black suit was Crowley, his legs crossed and a cup of tea in front of him.

“Well, now isn’t this just the peachiest of family reunions.”  Crowley snickered and watched as Sam moved from behind Dean. “Moose, I’ve missed your face.  The two of you have been off playing with the little North Wind for so long, I thought a visit was in order.”

“What are you doing here Crowley?”  Dean questioned, and Sam felt that protective streak flair in his brother at the mention of Beth.

“You must be joking, Dean, I’ve only come to see what the fuss is all about.”  The man smiled and watched as Sam’s jaw clenched. “And I see that the rumors are true.”

“What rumors?”  Sam’s brow creased as he stared at the man.

“The Winchester boys enamored with the same girl?” Crowley looked as if he might have been a little jealous.  “And shacking up with her.”

“Get to the point, Crowley.”  Dean snapped.

“I just want to meet the little wench that stole your hearts.”  He smiled, devilishly.

“There’s no mystery, we’ve met before.”  Beth spoke up, standing behind the boys. She watched the King of Hell rise from his seat as Sam and Dean stepped aside.  “I knew it felt familiar.”

“Peterson.”  The man in black smiled, but he didn’t move from his spot.  “Well, well, haven’t you just made a name for yourself?”

“If it’s making the circles of Hell, I must be.”  Beth felt Sam’s hand against her back and Dean touched her ever so gently on the back of her neck.  They were in full protection mode, and as much as she loved it, this one she could take. “What’s the real reason you’re here, Fergus?”

“I hate that name.”  He grumbled and stepped forward but stopped dead in his tracks.

Beth smiled as she closed the gap between them.  “Well, ain’t that a bitch,” she looked up at the ceiling, “caught in a Devil’s Trap by a witch.”

“She’s not a witch,” Crowley smiled, looking back at Becca with admiration, “she’s a hunter, just like you.”

“So, we’ve reunited, what do you want Crowley?”  Beth questioned, Crowley shrugged. “Oh, come on, you don’t just venture out of Hell to visit an old friend.”

“I’ve come to offer my services.”

“For what price?” Sam inquired, making Crowley turn his gaze from Beth to the men in the room.  

“For her, I’ll do it for free.  Peterson and I go way back.” 

“What exactly are you offering to do?”  Dean spoke up and watched as Crowley grinned.

“Whatever  _ she _ wants.”  

Beth licked her lips and made a gestured to Becca.  “You can let him go, he’s not going to do anything.”

“Are you sure?”  Becca questioned, watching Beth nod as her eyes rested on Crowley, and Becca watched the standoff as she scraped the paint on the ceiling.

“Call me when you need me.”  Crowley whispered low, his face inches from Beth’s and then snapped his fingers, disappearing from sight.

“Something you need to tell us, Bee?”  Dean questioned and watched as Beth, climbed up on the table to restore the Devil’s Trap.  She looked down at him and shrugged as she used the red wax to seal the circle.

“Crowley was a crossroads demon at the time,” she hopped down and handed the stick back to Becca, “I was alone and didn’t know what to do so I was going to make a deal.  Turns out, Crowley wasn’t making deals with little noobs, he had bigger fish to fry.”

“And?”  Dean watched as she moved towards the refrigerator and grabbed a soda out of it.  She took her time turning to lean against it before looking up at him. 

“I helped him with fishing issue.”  She replied and watched the look on Dean’s face.  

“You helped a demon, did you even know what he was going after?”  Sam questioned, shocked that she had kept it from him but watched as she took a sip from the bottle and nodded.

“Some yellow-eyed bastard.”  She replied. “Azazel was what Crowley called him once, if I remember right.”

“You went after a demon, that  _ demon _ , with Crowley?”  Beth couldn’t seem to get passed the look on Dean’s face.  “He was the one that killed our mother.”

“I know.”  She whispered, giving a slight nod.  “It was one of the reasons I took the job.”

“And what were the others?”  Sam questioned. Beth took a deep breath, glancing up at Becca.

“I needed to annihilate something.”  She was honest with her answers, but both Sam and Dean could feel the frustration building in her.  She didn’t really want to talk about that part of her life. “Before you go ahead and ask the questions rolling around in your heads, the only reason Crowley will do anything for me, is because of what I did for him and no, at this moment, I’m at liberty to say what exactly it was.”

Beth placed the soda on the table, hugged Becca quickly and walked past the two men that blocked the doorway.  Sam turned to follow her out the door but he stopped at the top of the stairway, watching her disappear around the corner. Sam looked back at Becca, who slowly took a seat at the table, her eyes avoiding Dean’s penetrating stare.

“If she’s not going to tell you, neither am I.”  She shrugged, and noticed Dean sit down at the table across from her.  “What do you want from me, Winchester? Those were some very, very dark days.”

“How about the truth?”  He snapped, then shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Becca, but it’s just hard to imagine Beth with Crowley.”

“She wasn’t alone,” the woman smiled, “she had help, my kind of help.  How do you think she got him in the first place?”

“You said you used it to kill demons.”  Sam spoke up.

“And that was exactly what we did with it, we used Crowley to kill off some of the nastiest things we had ever come across.”  Becca kept her eyes on her own fingers as she thought back. “Beth wasn’t in her right mind at that time, she was hell bent on destroying something and really didn’t care what.  She just wanted blood.” Sam pulled out a chair, turning it around and sat down next to his brother. “You’re going to think I’m insane for saying this, but Crowley was the best thing to happen to her at that time.  He was just as pompous and arrogant as he is now but he knew how to get the rage out, and he never touched her.”

“What do you mean “never touched her”?”  Sam was a little worried about the statement but Becca just brought her gaze up to meet his.

“Crossroads Demon? They always want to make a deal, meet their quota, but Crowley never once even accepted what she had to offer.  In fact, he never even struck his own bargain with her.” Both Sam and Dean exchanged a quick look, which made Becca laugh. “He said once that she was more valuable than anything he had ever encountered.”

“I wonder if he knew?”  Sam whispered, but Dean shook his head.

“Not with the way he responded to her walking in the door.”  Dean slid the chair back and walked over to the entrance. “I’m going to go find her.  Do you mind, Sam?”

Sam’s lips did his usual “whatever” as he shrugged and shook his head, all that expression in the matter of seconds.  “No, I’ve got some stuff I want to talk to Becca about anyway.”

Dean nodded, turned and headed down the stairs.  He took a deep breath at the bottom, and closed his eyes only for a second to see if he could try the same little trick that she had pulled on him once.  He could feel her, not the pull of her body, or the scent of her skin, but the emotions that flowed through every inch of her and he headed to his right.

The bar wasn’t all that big, in fact it only had six small tables and the counter, and there wasn’t even any booths, but he found her sitting on a stool, looking up at the sports broadcast with the closed captions that flashed across the bottom.  Cautiously, he slipped onto the stool beside her and asked quietly for a beer before he glanced at the drink in her hand.

“Whiskey?” He asked a bit shocked.

“Tequila,” she smiled as she took her time with the drink and looked him over.

“I thought you were a shots kind of girl?”  He grinned as the young woman behind the counter put the beer down.

“Dean,” she whispered, as she picked the glass back up again, “I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“And I asked what you were drinking, what does one have to do with the other?”  He turned on the stool to face her, one leg behind her, the other touching her knee. “But, really?  Crowley?”

“You have your demons, I have mine,” she finished her drink and went to move when his leg froze the chair. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I’m not fighting, but you have to understand just how hard this is for me to wrap my head around.” Beth twisted towards him, a flash of anger in her eyes as she glared.

“Wrap your head around?”  She laughed, sarcastically and licked her lips as she took a moment to think of the words.  “When you had the Mark of Cain branded on your arm, there was bloodlust inside you that you couldn’t help, right?”

“Yes, and it ultimately turned me into a monster.”  Dean admitted. Beth stood, pushing the chair back so that she could walk by before she leaned in towards his ear.

“To the demons I put down,” she whispered, “I was that monster, one-hundred fold.”

With that she walked out of the bar, having slipped the woman a twenty before disappearing out into the light.  Dean knew he would never understand what truly happened to her, but learning more about her past also brought with it the guilt of having lost her in the first place.  He finished what he had and tipped the woman before making his way back to the Impala, where he found her laying across the backseat, her earbuds in.

Sam and Becca sat on the steps, and just observed as Dean paced back and forth, debating on whether or not to keep bothering her but in the end, Dean walked over to stand in front of them.  

“I don’t know what to do,” he shrugged, “she’s never closed me off like this.”

“She needs time, Dean,” Becca watched as he took a deep breath, “she’s never talked about it to anyone but me and I don’t even know half the story.”

“I get why she did whatever it is,” he sounded so confused, “but I don’t get why she thinks she was a monster for doing it.  We all killed demons. Hell, Sam and I put down so many that I lost count, but in her mind, she is so much worse than us.”

“I guess we have to wait for her.”  Becca shrugged and watched as Sam took a breath, before his face became full of curiousness.

“Hey,” Sam started, “why do you think Crowley said to call him when we needed him?”  

“Maybe he knows something we don’t,” Dean rubbed his forehead.  “Let’s just get back to the bunker. I think I need a drink.”

“Just try to keep your cool, Dean, and remember her past isn’t pleasant and while she might know yours, she might not want to talk about hers.”  Becca whispered as he leaned in and hugged her. He gave a slight nod and made his way over to the driver’s side while she turned to Sam. “Can you feel her?”

“No, she’s completely blocked me out.”  He licked his lips, and stuffed his hands in his pockets.  “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so empty.”

“She’ll come around.”  Becca kissed him on the cheek as he gave her a slight smile and climbed in the car.  Becca’s eyes connected with Beth’s as she raised her fingers in a wave as the car pulled away from the curb.

 

Beth watched the trees roll by through the back windshield, her music blaring as she felt the sway of the car and just like any other time she had been in it, she started to feel relaxed.  As she let the feeling grow, she was suddenly hit with a barrage of memories from her time with Crowley. The blood that covered her was almost as thick as syrup and she could feel the rage fill her.  With a deep breath, she sat up quickly in the seat, alerting the men in front of her, as her earbuds came flying away.

Sam turned quickly as Dean looked at her in the rearview.  

“You okay, Al?”  Dean’s voice was gruff, like he was still trying to hold back emotions, and she gave a little nod but avoided his eyes.  Looking down at her hands, she could only see the crimson color that stained them and he watched her shake them, as if the drops were still wet.  “You sure?”

“Yeah!”  She snapped, “I’m fine.”  

She knew that her tone would make him put up his walls once again and she hated that she couldn’t’ just let him in but that part of her past, that was too bloody for even her to think about.  She snuck a peek at Sam, whose face was full concern and gave him a wink. In her mind she connected with him, letting him feel her sadness, because that was the only thing she had to offer him.

_ “I’m here for you,” _ his mind tickled hers as she lay back and looked out the window,  _ “we both are.” _

_ “He’s not going to understand, Sam, and I’m going to lose you both,” _ she answered, and choked back the emotions that.

_ “No, you’re not,” _ Beth turned her gaze back to him.

_ “How can you be so sure, you don’t even know what I’ve done?” _ Sam smiled, letting some of his memories from the past twelve years invade her senses. From the demon blood, to the innocent lives he took when he was soulless, right down to anything he might have done to protect Dean and the others he loved, he let her see it all.  But, it didn’t touch her.  _ “It’s so much worse than that.” _

_ “What could be worse than that?” _  Sam questioned, confused and watched her turn away once more.  _ “Beth?” _

_ “Not now, Sam,” _ her voice faded off as the barrier went up.

Sam turned back in his seat as the earbuds were placed back in and the music on her phone cranked up.  He let out a breath, and Dean adjusted his hand on the wheel, as they road back in silence. 

 

When the car was parked, Dean got out first, checking over the work they had done so far and Sam closed the door softly, leaning on the roof. 

“Doesn’t look too bad.”  He acknowledged as Dean shot a look at the backseat where Beth lay with her eyes closed.

“Do you really think she’s sleeping?”  Dean cocked his head as he looked at the way her fingers twitched.  “If she is, it can’t be a good dream.”

“I showed her everything, Dean, every hateful, evil thing I had ever done and she didn’t even bat an eye at it.”  Sam met his brother’s eyes as they stared across the car at each other. “She said she was so much worse.”

“She told me the same thing, but you know what she hasn’t said yet?”

“What’s that?”

“That we couldn’t ask Crowley.”

“Don’t you think that might be stepping over the line?  Go behind her back and find out her past from the man who helped her make it?”

“You got a better idea?”  

“Yeah, I do,” Sam raised an eyebrow, “we can wait, she’s not going to hold out forever.”

“Yep, neither am I,” Dean started towards the shack and Sam came around the car.

“So, what?”  He asked the older man as he walked behind him, “she doesn’t spill, so you’ll just walk?” 

“I would never walk away from her, or you,” Dean pivoted suddenly to face his brother, “but, I will not sit by and wait for her to have a breakdown because of a past that only rose to the surface because Crowley, the King of All Bullshit, decided to show his face.”

“Why are you so angry?”  

“Because, she…” Dean took a breath and lowered his voice, “because she’s hurting and there isn’t anything I can do to help her because I don’t know what is going on.”

“There isn’t anything either of us can do, Dean.”  

“If I hear “you just have to wait” one more time, Sammy, I swear…” Dean didn’t finish the sentence, he just walked on passed the shack to the woods.  Sam took a deep breath, glanced at the car, to make sure it was locked, and then headed into the small building.

 

Beth could hear the screams of hundreds in her ears as the blood covered everything she touched.  She walked blindly down the dripping hallway, demon blade in hand and listened for the sounds, something that lay just beneath the surface.  Her face was covered in the crimson liquid, her closed doused in it, hiding not only her scent but helping her to blend in with the surroundings.

She twisted the handle of the knife in her hand, prepared for anything and slowly she rounded the corner.  These halls were just like the rest, a long narrow passage with solid doors, all open and empty except for the blood and remains within them.  This was probably her third time through this particular place, the first time, she had been the one who caused the carnage, thrusting the pointed end into anything that moved.  The second time around had been after the Berserker had made his pass, that was who she tracked this third time. 

They had released it to find Crowley, but it found everything else instead, leaving bodies in pieces and blood lined walls in its wake, but she was the one that needed to put it down.  One last corner that was all she had before she would start another pass, but it was the last one she needed. The creature was monstrous, standing almost seven-feet tall and had to be over four-hundred pounds.  

She pressed her back against the wall as it tore a limb from one of the bodies before it, and listened to it stop, for just a moment and smell the air.  Satisfied that there was nothing else but the blood of the dead, it went back to its daunting task. Beth was able to step up behind it, a feat not easily accomplished with the sticky liquid that coated the floors, but she had learned to not make a sound, to barely breath and as she raised the blade above her head, both hands tightly on the handle, it paused for a moment.

Beth stopped, stood perfectly still and waited, her heart thumped quietly in her chest as she controlled the rhythm.  It snorted and dug its fingers down into the cavity of the body before it, breaking off a rib and Beth took the chance.  She drove the blade deep into its spine, backing away just as it roared to life and stood above her. It swung the jagged rib in her direction, as she ducked and moved, but she found something to use to her advantage.  With her small statue, she was able to turn it in circles, confusing it by weaving through the furniture that was sprawled about. 

She had finally gotten ahead of it, jumped up on a desk, then a cabinet and came down on its back, grabbing the blade as she did and with all her weight she pulled straight down, slicing from neck to tail along its spine.  The berserker wailed as the blood splashed around her and it swung around, bouncing her, and ripping the blade from its back and caught her with a forearm almost as large as she was. Beth felt the wind leave her lungs and she pounded against the wall, her head slamming backwards as she slid to the floor.

She stared with fading vision as it came closer, wrapping its huge hand around her throat, and she though that she was done for, but with the blade in hand, and with what little strength she did have left, she sliced across the tendon and rendered it useless. The monster stumbled down and flopped into the puddle of blood next to her, as her world began to fade.  There was only one word on her tongue as the darkness began to take over.

 

“Crowley!”  Beth screamed and sat up in the back of the car, just as the door at the end of her feet swung open.

She still wasn’t seeing straight as the arms reached inside, and she began kicking furiously until those hands grabbed her, one on each ankle and dragged her towards the bright light at the end of the seat. She felt those hands grasp her by the waist, and lift her from the car.  One arm suddenly hugged her and the other tucked under her backside, holding her to him and she felt the solid metal of the Impala’s trunk under her soon after. 

She hadn’t realized that she had her arms so tightly around the neck of one who had pulled her from the car, but as she buried her face against his neck, felt the stubbles of a day off from shaving rub against her skin, and breathed in his scent, she knew just whose arms she was wrapped so securely in and she didn’t intend to let him go. 

Dean quietly shushed her as he held her to him, so close he could feel the heat of her body, but that wasn’t what had drawn him back from the woods.  He had seen what she was dreaming, the blood, the gore, and violence had sent him sprinting from his torrid walk into nature. He raised a hand from her back and pressed it against the back of her head. His eyes filled with the raw emotions he had hoped to hide from her, but she never eased up to even see, she just held him.

Her arms came down from his neck, and she tucked them up between their chests, as if she were cold, but he soon remembered that she had always done that after nightmares when he curled up against her at night. It just made her feel more secure to be completely enclosed by him.

“Sam’s going to come out and think something’s up.”  He tried to be cute, but the pain in his voice was evident.

“Don’t care,” she whispered, “just don’t let go.”

“Never,” he kissed her gently on the head as he put his cheek to her hair and tightened his hold.  

He leaned his lower half against the car, which brought him right up against all of Beth, and he was surprised that his mind didn’t automatically go to something perverted. He could feel the heels of her feet as she tucked them in between his legs, locking him against her and he smiled.

“How did you see that?” Her small voice whispered against the skin of his neck, sending shivers down his spine as he placed his lips against her shoulder.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, “maybe the hunter in you called out to the one in me, because I’m pretty sure if Sam saw that, he would be out here too.”

“The hunter,” she scoffed, “the evil.”

“Hey,” he put a hand against her cheek, forcing her to lean her head back so he could look into her eyes, “we all do what we need too to survive.”

“That wasn’t for survival, it was for revenge,” he watched her eyes move away from his but she didn’t try to get away from his touch.  Dean licked his lips as he took in the features of her face. “I wanted someone to pay for what happened, demons just seemed the easiest thing on the menu.”

“And that thing?”  She didn’t realize just how much he had seen.  “Why were you after it?”

“Crowley,” she shrugged, and went to sit back but his brace became tighter.

“You’re not getting away from me that easy, Munchkin,” he grinned and watched as she rolled her eyes.  

“Crowley was trapped, the berserker was his guard.  My job was to get him out,” she shook her head, “and I did.”

“All those bodies?”

“I was angry,” was all she responded with.

“How many?”  Dean’s feelings weren’t changing, but he knew that if she were anything like him, a body count would end at a certain number.

“Too many,” she whispered and Dean knew then just how far she had gone.

“It wasn’t the first time, was it?”  He felt her shake her head as she leaned it forward against his shoulder once more.  “So what do we do now?”

“Find out why Crowley is back in the area,” she shrugged, her warm breath against him again, “checking on you two was the lamest excuse he has ever given, and I think he has a thing for Becca.”

“Hey,” he whispered, as he thought of the oddness of Crowley’s arrival, “why show up there to begin with?”

“It’s where he always brought me after…when I needed some medical attention and he wasn’t,” she sighed, “let’s just say the whole idea of seeing any part of me uncovered wasn’t his biggest turn-on.”

“He didn’t want to see you naked?”  Dean laughed and watched her sit back a bit to look up into his eyes, for the first time since earlier they sparkled with life.

“Not everyone can be you, Winchester,” she grinned and Dean leaned down, capturing her lips with his as he gave her a gentle, but loving kiss.  

“True,” he whispered as he drew back just a bit, “perfection like this is the work of the Gods.”

“Oh give me a break,” she grumbled, kissed him quickly again and put her head back on his shoulder.  “Are your legs going to give out?”

“No, I could stand here all day with you.”  His cheesy pick-up lines didn’t work on her but she wasn’t arguing if he wanted to just stand there holding her.  She welcomed it, and cuddled up closer to him. “Should I tell Sam?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, “it might be a good idea before he walks out to see it.”

Dean pulled out his phone, still not used to the telepathic way of doing things and sent the man downstairs a text, which got an instant reply.

“He said he knows,” the confusion in his voice is what got her to look up.

“What did you tell him?”

“That I was out here holding you.”  Dean grinned lovingly.

“Well, yeah that he would know about. It’s pretty hard not to know what you’re feeling right about now.” 

“Maybe we should go in then,” he suggested and stepped back, hips first, and sighed as the warmth from her arms left him.  Beth looked up as she gripped his shirt and he helped her down from the car. “Al, listen, about those feelings…”

“Apple pie, Dean, for you it’s all apple pie,” she kissed his cheek and walked towards the bunker, while he locked and closed the door to the Impala once again.

“I have no idea what that means.”  He sighed as he ran his hands down over his face, trying to control the emotions that ran through him.  Want, need, protection, anger at her pain, they all coursed through him as he made his way down the ladder to the bunker see Sam standing in front of Beth, his hands gently caressing her shoulders.

He didn’t understand why he could feel certain emotions from her when she was alone but everything when she was near Sam.  Dean grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on his favorite chair as he listened to them whisper. Beth had a bad dream, that was all, nothing to worry about.  These comments made him smile, not because it was now a secret that he and Beth shared, but because she was still trying to protect one or both of them from the truth.

Beth slapped Dean on the leg as she walked by and found a spot on the couch as Sam walked around, getting comfortable on the other side of her.  Dean sat forward, watching the look on her face as she stared at him, just took in his features and then a deep breath.

“So, the East Winds are gathering?”  She questioned and watched as the two men gave each other a dirty look.  “My powers are stronger than yours,” she teased and Dean sat back, “either of you want to elaborate?”

Sam sighed, pushing his hair back from his face, “Cas said a group of them were gathering up near Niagara, he thought they might have something to do with why the Olympians are coming after you.”

“But, he didn’t have much else on them, not even why they might be after you,” Dean spoke up, “and I don’t think it would be the best idea to go half-cocked into a fight with some demigods because of misinformation.”

“Good point,” Beth nodded, “but how else are we going to find out just what’s going on up there?”

Sam shrugged, she made sense, there was no other way that he could think of to get anything on them without Cas or the three of them being involved.

“Crowley,” Dean replied and both Beth and Sam snapped up to look at him, “he said he would do whatever you needed.”

“His reach isn’t as limitless as you think, Dean.  Demigods and Demons, even the King of Hell, could get into a pissing match that would leave something leveled.”  Beth shook her head.

“Are you afraid to send him in there?”

“I’m afraid of what he would do when he got there,” she rubbed her neck and sighed.  “This is Crowley after all, demigods or not, if he can rule them, he’ll try his hardest to take over. If they really are controlling the Olympians…think about what Crowley could do with that much power.”

“You know, sometimes you make my head hurt.”  Dean stated, rolling his eyes. “Use him, don’t use him, I have no idea what to do next.”

“Cas?”  Sam spoke up, feeling the tension between them growing.  Dean shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

“Fine, I’ll go outside and see what I can wing up.”  Beth watched him move, she could tell that she had struck a nerve and gave Sam a quick look before going after him.  She met him just outside the shack as he stared up at the sky. “Some days, I just don’t get how your mind works.”

“Me?”  Beth laughed and watched as he brought his gaze down to her.  “Why, because I think it’s a bad idea to send a demon in on a job like this?”

“Because you have been back and forth with the whole Crowley thing from the jump. First, it’s you hate him for your past, and then you’re protecting him from something he was meant to do.  I don’t get it.”

“And,” she stated walking up to him, “apparently you never will.  What is aggravating you more, Dean, the fact that Crowley and I have a past, or that I won’t share every intimate detail with you?”

“That’s not fair, Peterson,” Beth could hear his voice lower as he stared down at her, “I’m just trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need it, Dean!”  She snapped, her voice had never raised that high with him, “for the first time, I don’t need to be protected from him.  He’s just Crowley, he’s just a demon, and demons I can handle.”

“Crowley is not just another demon.” Dean’s teeth clenched as he tried hard to hold onto his anger.

“You don’t know him like I do.” Beth stepped passed him, and Dean grabbed her gently by the arm, but instead of stopping, she lashed out, her forearm came crashing down a crossed his wrist, breaking the hold.  “Don’t grab me like that again.”

Dean put his hands up and stepped back as she slipped into the Mustang, roared it to life and took off down the road.  Sam stepped out of the doorway and watched the car disappear around the corner. 

“What happened?”

“We had a fight.”  Dean replied, and that was all he had to say about it, before he started to walk in the other direction.

“Great, that helps me a lot.”  Sam sighed as he watched his brother disappear. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  “Castiel, I could really use your help right now,” Sam opened one eye and looked around before closing it again, “Cas?”

“I’m here, Sam,” the deep voice of the angel came from behind him and Sam turned swiftly to face him.  “What’s going on?”

“Dean was supposed to call you to ask if you could find out more about the East Winds, but he just took off because he and Beth had a fight.”  Sam stated, with aggravation in his tone.

“About Crowley, I know,” he replied, which got an eye roll from Sam.  “It’s dangerous for her to work so closely with Crowley.”

“I know that, she knows that but Dean wants to use him.  What is the deal with their history?”

“I’m not sure but I do know this, in the years that they worked together, Hell had never seen carnage like that before.” Cas stepped up closer to Sam and glanced around.  “We could only watch, no one was allowed to interfere but Sam, if he gets involved especially with Dean and Beth at odds, it won’t end well. Get her to admit to her deeds, only then will it open the gateway she and Dean need to get passed this.  I will check into the East Winds. Don’t make a move towards them without me first.”

“How do I…” but Cas was gone, which made Sam sigh.  He hated when the angel did that.

 

Beth returned about an hour later, a brown paper bag in hand and she made her way down to the bunker, where Sam and Dean were sitting, quietly awaiting her arrival.  She eyed them as they did her while she placed the bottles of vodka and orange juice on the counter and then searched for a glass. 

Sam gave Dean a quick nod in her direction and the older one slowly made his way over to stand just in her way.  Beth looked up, reached past him and grabbed her items, which she began to mix in the glass that sat in front of her but as she raised it to her lips, Dean touched her hand gently with his fingers.

“I’m sorry.”  This admission alone stopped Beth for only a second before she swallowed down the potent mixture, her eyes locked on Dean’s.  With a shiver as the vodka went down, Beth set the glass on the counter and poured another drink. She downed the second one just as fast and when she went to pour another glass, Dean put his hand over the top of it.  “I get that you don’t want to talk about it, but you need to, Beth, you can’t keep that in.”

She lifted his hand gently, by sliding hers under his and moved the glass to continue what she was doing after downing the third drink, she grabbed just the vodka bottle and moved to the couch, where she looked up at him an gestured to his chair with impatience. 

Dean tossed his hands in the air and moved over to sit across from her.  Sam turned in his seat, putting one knee up on the couch as Beth cleared her throat and opened the bottle.  She offered it to both, who politely refused and then smiled.

“Liquid courage,” she laughed and shook her head, “I don’t think I’ve ever had to use it.”

“Courage for what?”  Sam whispered, “you’re the most fearless person we know.”

“Not about this I’m not,” Beth took a deep breath and a swig of the alcohol, letting it burn as it went down. “So you know Becca and I worked with Crowley but the extent of it was longer than two years.  I was angry, I told you that, but it went beyond fury, it was rage, pure blind rage.”

“So you went to Crowley?”  

“I went to a crossroads, I wanted it gone, I wanted my family back, I wanted you.”  Beth stared at him and then over at Dean, “both of you, but apparently there was nothing that I had that he wanted, except my rage and he didn’t want to strike a deal with my soul for that, he wanted to help me with it.”

“Oh, Beth.” Dean whispered and leaned forward in the chair.

“It was a great idea at the time.  Hunt down Azazel, avenge Mary, get the rage out but we never found him.  Sam was off to college, you were off with your dad, I wasn’t going to screw that up, so we moved on from Azazel, or more to the point, we lost him.” Beth took another sip and coughed as it went down.  “He had other fish, and the more it went on, the bigger they got. It was a bloodbath, day in and day out. If I was hurt during it, he would bring me to Becca, heal me the best he could and leave me with her until the need to kill again got too great and then I was out the door.”

“She told us that you would stay and then vanish.”  Sam whispered. “She didn’t tell us it was because of this.”

“Not her place,” Beth said shrugging, “Becca and Crowley had a pretty rough go of it because of what he was doing, or more to the point because of what I was doing, but she knew that I needed it, until it came to the last one we ever did.”  Beth’s eyes met Dean’s. “Crowley got caught, don’t ask me how, or by who but I knew just where he was, I knew how to get to him and by then I knew everything I needed to know about how to deal with anything.

“I slashed my way through the building, innocent, demon, human, creature…it didn’t matter, to me they were all monsters and stood in the way of what I needed to do,” Beth licked her lips and closed her eyes as she thought back to the memory.  “They were dead, all of them, hundreds of them in this abandoned building in the middle of nowhere. I made my rounds two or three times, making sure that there was nothing living left in the place. I was covered in their blood but it was nothing compared to how the place looked when the Berserker came through.

“He was huge, all muscle, larger than life, and he loved to shred things, apparently dead things.”  Sam glanced up at Dean, and they realized why her reaction to the earlier hunt had set off the memories.  “By the time I came back around, after covering the other floors, the one I knew Crowley was locked on was covered by blood, every inch of it, and the bodies were torn to pieces.  Arms, legs, insides, they were everywhere and he was just going at it.”

Dean watched her eyes as they seemed to fade into the memory and he reached out to take her hand, Sam’s was already on the lower part of her back, under her shirt to make direct contact with her skin. They could feel the shiver as she tried to control the memories that bombarded her.

“When I got to him, the fight was overpowering, but I sliced him down his spine.  He still had enough strength to knock me out cold, almost squeezed the life out of me, but I sliced the tendon in his arm and he went down hard.” Beth swallowed, staring at the bottle. “I don’t know how long I was out, minutes, hours but I could hear Crowley calling to me, and that brought me to.  He was behind a wall that had a secret door. It wasn’t hard to find him but it was hard to get past what I had done. That was the moment I realized that I had done that, I had caused that much chaos and destruction and I was done.”

“What happened after?”  Beth looked up at Dean, who had asked the question and she shrugged.

“He brought me somewhere, turned around and let me shower off the blood and guts, never left the room though,” she laughed as she glanced between them, “not like you two who would have watched me shower bare-assed.  He couldn’t stand to see the sight of my skin, which was truly weird, and when the water turned off, I was dry, dressed and we were standing in front of Becca’s stairs.”

“That’s it?”  Sam questioned, rubbing his neck.  “After two years he just dropped you off?”

“With just a few choice words, “whatever you need”, and then he was gone.” Beth took one more sip and put the bottle down.  “I never even knew what he meant by them, but I do now,” she looked up at Dean, “if I need anything, all I have to do is ask him and it will be done.”

“So what are you going to ask?”  

“Only the most important thing I could ever ask him,” she stood and glanced down at the both of them, “to bugger off.”

Sam laughed as she took a few stumbling steps away from the couch and Dean snatched the bottle.

“I see why you do shots,” Sam smiled and watched as she stopped, giving him a dirty look.  “Where are you going?”

“I don’t really know,” she stopped, and turned to lean on the couch.  “There is a very good reason that I don’t drink while in the company of men that I love.”

“What’s that?”  Dean was way too curious about what he was feeling to let it go.

“Liquor goes right to my…”she thought for a moment, looked down, and then up at the shocked faces of the two men in the room, “so in order to avoid the temptation that I see right now, I’m going to take a really, really, extremely cold shower.”

Sam burst out laughing as Dean sat back on the couch, grabbing a pillow from behind him as he sat back and covered his lap.  The grin never left Sam’s face as he watched Dean from under his hair. The older man sat there and stared for a minute at his brother before rolling his eyes.

“Dude, seriously?”  The older one questioned, and Sam glanced at the bathroom, “oh, come on Sammy, that was an open invitation that only one of us can use.”

“She’s drunk, Dean,” Sam sighed and looked back and forth from the shower to his brother.  

“She’s not even buzzed,” Dean laughed, “are you telling me you can’t feel it? She’s more sober than a freaking pancake.”

“Really?”  

“I swear,” Dean rolled his eyes, “I swear on everything Olympian, if you don’t go in there, I’m going to.”

“NO!”  Sam said startled that Dean would even suggest it with his knowledge of the rules.

“Then, please, Sam, I’m begging you, as your big brother,” Dean sat forward, “go give that girl some help before we both explode.”

“Why is it that you can feel her sexually right now?”  

“If I had the answer to that, I wouldn’t need the pillow.” Sam stood and watched as Dean shooed him towards the bathroom, where Sam casually knocked on the door and slipped inside.  Dean laughed as he heard the bang as one of them hit the wall. Closing his eyes, he stuck his fingers in his ears and started humming “Eye of the Tiger”.

 

Sam opened his eyes, the sheets tangled around him and Beth, as he listened to the voices that mumbled in his head.  He spread his hand out over Beth’s bare stomach, an action that brought her closer to him, and listened for her dreams, for her voice, but she was silent.  He searched for his brother in the bunker but there was nothing but the mumbled noises from outside.

Slowly, Sam snuck out from under the sheet, pulled on his jeans and a flannel shirt without buttoning it and made his way to the ladder.  Dean’s bedroom door was open, but he still couldn’t feel anything. Rung by rung, the mumbles got louder and as his head breached the opening he could hear Dean’s clear scream for help.

Sam moved as quickly as he could barefoot and found his brother with Cas’ coat bunched in his hands as he held the angel up against the Mustang.  Castiel’s face was bloody, his eyes were swollen shut, and he was barely conscious. Sam came up beside him and put his hand along Cas’ jaw, turning him gently to face him, but there was no response from the angel.

“I can’t get him past the door.”  Dean stated, worry filling his voice. 

“It’s warded,” Sam reminded him and patted his pockets to find that he had put on the pair with his cell conveniently tucked in the back.  With and unsteady hand, he dialed Becca’s number, let it ring until voicemail picked up and then called her back three time.

“This better be good, Sam!”  Her tone was full of sleep as she answered.

“How do I get the angel ward off?”  Sam questioned quickly.

“What?”

“The angel ward on the bunker, I need to get it off!  Cas is hurt.” Sam was frantic, and Dean was holding together surprisingly well.  

“Okay, okay, calm down,” her tone was sounding more awake as she spoke, “at the door to the shack, repeat these words, and Sam, you have to say them right. Sit pia anima intrare! Say it back to me.”

“Sit pia anima intrare!”  Sam repeated as he made his way to the door.  “What the hell did I just say?”

“It doesn’t matter as long as you say it correctly,” he could hear her putting on her shoes. “I’ll be there in five minutes.” 

Sam looked at the phone as she hung up, and sighed, he hated when she did that too, it reminded him too much of Cas.  

“Dean, bring him to the door,” Sam yelled.  Dean let the weight of the man fall on him and he looked at his brother.

“A little help here,” he yelled.

Sam came back and the two of them dragged Cas to the door and Sam took a deep breath, “sit pia anima intrare!”

“Try it,” Dean whispered and Sam stretched out Cas’ hand, praying that it didn’t catch on fire but nothing happened so the two of them dragged him inside.  “He still can’t go down in the bunker.”

“Becca’s on her way,” Sam sighed as Dean patted the angel’s face.

“What the hell were you doing out here anyway?”

Dean looked at him, “clearly, you have never been on the receiving end of the emotions that fly around the house when the two of you go at it.”

“Oh,” Sam replied.

“Yeah, “oh”, I needed some air,” Dean sighed and looked down at the man that lay between them.  “Come on, Cas, wake up.”

The Grand Am roared into the drive and Becca stopped just short of tripping over Castiel’s foot.  She looked down at the badly beaten man and shook her head. 

“Give me a few minutes, the wards took three weeks to put up, I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to come down easy but I just have to get a small opening to get him through.”  She stated and headed for the ladder.

“Wait,” Dean spoke up, making her turn to him, “if it goes back up, he’s not going to burn is he?”

“It’s mean to keep them from finding you and to keep them out, but once in, they’re in.” She reassured him and made her way down, where she met Beth, who stood wrapped in a blanket.  “You might want to get dressed, woman, it looks like you’re going to have company.”

“What?”

“Cas is hurt and we need to get him down here,” Becca whispered and watched Beth go in the opposite direction of the bedroom.  

Beth made her way up the ladder with the blanket on and knelt down beside Cas.  Dean stared at her, glanced up at Sam and rolled his eyes because no, a woman in a blanket isn’t distracting at all.  Sam stripped off the shirt and put it around Beth’s shoulders, who slipped it on as she leaned down and listened for any signs of, well, anything.  Sam helped her button the bottom few and she was able to finish the rest before she placed a hand on his head.

Dean touched her fingers as Sam placed his lips against her forehead and she closed her eyes.  The white light that filled Cas was enough to bring down the swelling in his eyes but Beth sat back almost exhausted before she could do anything else.

“He’s an angel,” she whispered, “apparently, there is only so much I can do for them.”  

“It’s okay, kid,” Dean replied, running his finger down her cheek as she leaned back against Sam.  “We’ll get in, I’m sure Becca is taking care of that now.”

“Done,” Becca’s head popped up, “but move him quick, I’m not sure how long I can keep this open for.”  

Dean grabbed under Cas’ shoulders while Sam grabbed his legs and the two of them lowered him down into the bunker where they moved him, carefully to the couch.  Becca quickly climbed back up to seal off the door before she came back to sit beside them on the coffee table. 

Dean stripped off the tie, coat and suit jacket as Sam grabbed water and towels.  “Why the hell does have to wear so many clothes?”

Beth smiled but it quickly faded as Becca gave her a dirty look before going back to looking over his wounds. Dean took the damp cloth from Sam and gently wiped the blood from the man’s face as Beth took Cas’ hand.

“Dean,” she whispered, and watched as his eyes peeked up at her, “I can hear him, he’s trying to heal from the inside out,” she paused for a moment, a look of concentration on her face, and she licked her lips, “he says to stop worrying.”

“You can talk to him?”  Dean questioned.

“I can hear him, that’s all,” she stroked her fingers along the lines on the inside of Cas’ arm, a gesture that caught both Sam and Dean off guard.  “I can hear…things working inside him.”

“What are you doing to his arm?”  Dean’s voice made her stop and their eyes met.  She wasn’t sure if it was jealousy she saw there, and if it was, she didn’t know what he was jealous of.  

“It’s just a way to connect better,” she moved her fingers, “you and I have a telepathic way, most people you have to touch in order to get into their heads.”

Dean nodded, not quite sure what to say about it but Beth placed Cas’ hand down on his stomach and moved away from him.  Sam watched the strange interaction and followed Beth into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“He’s just worried about Cas, Beth, it’s nothing,” Sam whispered as he watched her drop the blanket and grab a pair of shorts.

“It’s not Dean, it’s Cas,” she replied, turning to sit down on the bed, “they did that to him, the East Winders, they hurt him like that.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?  Did he show you that?” Sam spoke softly as he sat beside her on the bed.  Beth nodded, staring at her hands before she looked up at him.

“I can’t protect him from them,” she admitted, “and if I can’t protect an Angel, how am I supposed to protect the two of you?”

“Hey,” he knelt down in front of her, between her legs as he placed both hands gently against her cheeks, “don’t think like that, we’re stronger than Cas.  The three of us together are unstoppable.”

“According to Hera?” Beth shook her head, “I don’t know anymore, Sam.”

The door opened and Becca stuck her head in, “he’s awake.”

Both Sam and Beth followed her to the couch, where Dean was leaning over, sitting in Becca’s spot on the coffee table and Cas looked at all of them shocked.

“How did I get down here? This place is invisible to angels.”  He questioned.

“And demons, and Olympians.”  Beth replied and knelt by the couch.  Cas sat up slowly, inching closer to her and Beth stared into his bright blue eyes.  “Why did they do that?”

“What?” Dean spoke up. “Who?”

“To get to you, to see what you are capable of,” Cas replied and he continued to stare, “I could feel you in my head, I felt the repairs you made to my brain.”

“I think I left a few screws loose,” Beth replied and felt him grab her hand. 

“You don’t understand, Elizabeth, if they find out, they’ll know how to get to you.” Cas’ concern was touching but Beth just shook her head.

“No one is getting to me, Castiel, certainly not any demigod wanna-bes.” He watched her stand and walk over to the counter.

“The East Winds did this to you?”  Dean spoke up and Cas nodded. “How did they get the jump on you?”

“In a group, they are powerful, alone they are just like any other human,” Cas explained, and his sight turned on Beth once more, “but you have to understand, none of them are as strong as she is.”

“So, what,” Dean whispered, “you got your ass handed to you to see what they could do?”

“It was the only way to truly understand the extent of their powers.”  Cas agreed and Beth rolled her eyes. “The only problem is, they can use their telepathy much like you can, Beth, but as a group they become one mind.”

“Oh, we’ve been working on that problem,” Beth smiled and glanced at Dean, who gave her a ‘not the right time’ kind of look, which made the smile widen.  “My question to you, Castiel, are they the ones controlling the Olympians?”

“That was still unclear, but there is something going on. The one that I did manage to interrogate said something about a gathering of more in a town called Hyde Park.” Beth shook her head at the mention of the name and Becca stood straight.

“That son of a bitch!”  Sam heard Beth mumble under her breath.

“What?”  Dean inquired, sitting up straighter.

“The asylum, the one that I busted Crowley out of,” she looked over at him, “it was in Hyde Park.”

“You need to get rid of him, Beth,” Cas suggested.

“Ya think?”  She snapped sarcastically.

“Can’t I just gank the bastard and have it be done?”  Dean grumbled.

“He’s the King of Hell, Dean,” Cas answered, which got a smile from Becca as Dean rolled his eyes as if to say he knew.

“I think it’s time to send the demon on his way.”  Beth sighed and looked at the people in the room, but she stopped and stared at Cas.  “You, you’re kind of stuck here for now. The wards are up, there is no in or out for you unless Becca opens a hole, but knowing what we do about the East Winds now, I think you’re better off to stay put.”

“Agreed.”  Cas sighed, laying back on the couch, which was the easiest answer Beth had gotten all night.

“Now we just have to think of something for Crowley.” Sam glanced between Dean and Beth and noticed the stares before Beth turned to him.

“I think I have an idea.”  And, Sam never liked the outcome when Beth said that.

 

Beth stepped outside into the darkness, her breath evident against in the light. The nights were getting closer and the smell of fall was in the air. However, she wasn’t out there to enjoy the New York nights, she was beyond mad, at Dean, at Sam, hell even at Becca and she needed some time.  That much needed moment was squashed as she heard his footsteps on the frosted ground behind her.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Beth.”  Dean’s voice was full of hostility but the one inside Beth’s mind was teasing her, and she drew in a good amount of the cold air before she turned to face the man behind her.

Dean stood there, in all his pent-up glory, his arms crossed over his chest staring down at her with some kind of “my way, or the highway” look on his face and she shook her head.  This might be harder than she thought.

“It needed to be done.”  She replied, her face void of all emotions.  “I’m going to Crowley, I’m going to find these bastards and I’m going to put an end to it.”

“You broke his heart, is that really how you want to leave it?”  Dean growled. Just the thought of hurting Sam made her eyes glisten, but she squared her shoulders and pulled the keys out of her pocket.  “You can’t go off and fight this alone.”

“And I don’t need you saving my ass every time I walk out the door.”  She snapped. “This is not a healthy relationship, you and I. I have nothing to offer you except heartbreak.  We can never be together, Dean, you know this as much as I do. The only logical next step is going to him and doing what he and I do best.”

“Bloodshed, more innocent lives lost.”  Dean stepped closer, probably not the best step in the ingenious acting gig they had thought up.  “You are not that monster anymore.”

“I have always been a monster, no matter which way you slice it.”  Again, with the pie jokes, but Dean tried to ignore it. “Stay here, take care of Sam, hell, live out your last days on this little piece of heaven, but don’t you dare try to follow me.”

“And if I do?”  He questioned, grabbing her arm.  Beth closed her eyes, hoping her acting was just as good as she hoped as she swirled to face him and slapped him square across the cheek.

“I told you to never grab me like that again.”  Dean released her, his hand dropping to his side as she opened the car door.  “I mean it, Dean, try to find me and I promise, what I do to you will be worse than anything you can ever imagine.”

Beth slipped into the Mustang, swung it around and took off down the road, disappearing into the night.  Dean closed his eyes, praying she stayed safe for the moment and moved back inside the bunker. Once passed the wards, he opened his mind to her and glanced at Sam who stood just by the opening with the crossbow in hand.

“Tell me you got something, Bee,” he spoke quietly aloud as he stared at his brother.

_ “He took it,” _ she replied.   _ “The grove between the Oaks.” _

“I hate that place,” Dean growled as the two men made their way to the Impala.  “Why did she have to pick that place?”

“The Dryads.”  Sam spoke up, raising his brow, and Dean nodded.  “She couldn’t have picked a safer place, they won’t let anything happen to her.”

“We can hope.”

Sam smiled at him as they slowly made their way down the road.  “Nice acting by the way.”

“Shut up!”  Dean gave him a nasty look, but a little grin hid underneath it.

 

Beth stood against the hood of the car, her ankles and arms crossed as she looked down at the grass before her.  The trees that stood as a way into the field were in her line of sight, purposely chosen for the guardians inside. She hadn’t meant to be so violent, but there was just something that set her off about, well, everything.

“You called?”  Crowley questioned as he stepped towards her, hands in the pockets of his black jacket.

“I didn’t actually,” Beth replied and looked up at him.  “I didn’t ask for any of this and now, you’ve come and all hell is breaking loose.”

“King of it, sweetheart,” he smiled. 

“Oh don’t give me that “I’m the King of Hell” horseshit, Crowley!” She growled.  “If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be rotting in that lunatic asylum.”

“And I thank you every day from the bottom of my black heart for what you did, but you had no part in my rising to the top.”  He stopped less than two feet from her.

“Why did you come back?”

“Curiosity.”

“Why have you stayed?”

“To see where my black-haired angel goes next.”

“I’m not an angel and you know it.”

“I’m sorry,” he laughed, “a North Wind, the stuff of legends and the last of your kind.”

“Oh, see finally I’m getting where you’re going with this whole friendly business.” Beth nodded, “what do you want?”

“Just you, in all your hunter glory.”  Crowley smirked.

“And if I said you can’t have me, what would you do then?”  

“Go after the two, no three things you love the most,” he gave her a devilish smile, “Becca seemed happy to see me.”

“By the time you poofed your way out of there, she had ten wards up to make sure you never stepped back in.”

“So what are you doing out here all alone?”  Beth glanced around as she stood up straight, moving away from the car.

“Why are the East Winds headed to the same place I freed you from?”  She questioned and watched him smile.

“So Castiel is alive.”

“Barely,” Beth said painfully as she stared up at him, her thoughts filled with horrible images of when the angel first arrived, just in case he was poking around in there.

“They need it for the spell they are casting, on you,” he smiled.

“What? One lonely little girl too much for a hoard of East Winds to take care of without magic?” She laughed.  “So they need the last place I spilled blood?”

“Not just any blood,” he cocked his head to smile at her, “your blood, and the blood of anything you slaughtered.  One potent, evil, rage-filled mix of pure hell.”

“My blood?” Beth laughed.  “Get me a map, I can point out every location I’ve dripped in from here to California and back.”

“But not with the same passion.”  Crowley’s words were starting to make sense.  A North Wind with that much blood on her hands couldn’t be good for the whole “protection of the world” deal that they were working on.  “Ah, there’s that angry look I remember.” He leaned down, almost touching his forehead to hers. “I can help you stop it.”

“I don’t want your help, Crowley. I think you’ve done enough.”  She stared up at him, her blue eyes blazing with rage. “I think you told them where to find it.”

“I would never put you in that kind of danger, Angel.” She expected him to touch her, anything so she could break his arm, but he just took a few steps back.  “I would do anything for you.”

“Go down there and burn it to the ground.”  She suggested but he shook his head.

“That I can’t do.”

“You said anything, Crowley.”  She leaned back once more against the car.

“It’s not that easy when my blood is in the mix, sweetheart.” Beth stopped and thought about it for a moment.  He was right. They had tortured him within an inch of his miserable demonic life but his blood coated the floor of that room.  “If I step foot there, I’m in the mix and I don’t think our boys would find that very amusing, would you?”

“Our boys?” She laughed and shook her head. “They would put you down in a second just for standing here with me.”

“I don’t think so, you see the Winchesters and I go way back,” she watched as he looked up at the sky, smiling as if stuck in a pleasant memory. “By the way, where are your protectors now, Angel?”  

“Right where they should be.”  Beth looked up as an arm came around Crowley’s neck, blade in hand and the tip touched right at his jugular.  “See the best part of being a threesome with the two best hunters in the world is, we don’t have to communicate verbally.”

“So your little lover’s spat?”  Crowley laughed as Dean peeked his head around to tighten the hold he had on the demon. Sam came around the back side of the Mustang with Beth’s crossbow in hand.

“Staged, I could feel you nearby,” Beth whispered, stepping closer, “Dean was right, I do hate you for my past, but I do protect you, and that’s why you’re going to do me the biggest solid ever.”

“What’s that, Princess?”  He grumbled.

“You’re going to go away and leave me be.”  Crowley smiled. “You won’t touch my family, and you won’t interfere, because if you do, I will find you and I will put that blade so far down your throat it will come out your tail end. Or, you can go destroy that building, your choice.”

“I said I would do whatever you needed, but the building I can’t do,” he shrugged, “I can’t, however, make any guarantees that I won’t be back though.”

“It doesn’t matter, because I’ll be waiting.”  Beth watched as he disappeared from the hold Dean had on him.

“Are you really going to kill him the next time you see him?”  Dean questioned, sheathing the blade as he stepped up to her. Beth shook her head as she looked away.  “Hey,” he whispered, getting her attention back, “I get that the two of you had…whatever kind of dysfunctional friendship that was, but Beth, he’s bad news.”

“Says the man who used him to help stop the end of the world.”  Beth leaned back against the car, Sam stepped up beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close as Dean reached out and touched her cheek.  “I thought I was done being angry, feeling that rage, but now I have to go back and do it all again, with things that I haven’t even met.”

“The East Winds are going to use this against you, you don’t have a choice.”  Sam could feel her shake against him. “We’ll do what we have to, Beth, no matter what.”

“You can’t have that kind of blood on your hands, Sam.”  She spoke up and stepped away, turning to the two of them.  “We go down, we shut it down and then we burn it down, no one needs to get hurt.”

“And if they do?”  Dean questioned.

“Let me be the one to do it.”  She begged and watched as the brothers exchanged glances.  “This isn’t up for discussion.”

“We’ll see,” Dean kissed her on the head as he walked by into the darkness to where the Impala sat. Beth shook her head as she looked over at Sam, who just stared.

“Come on, let’s go check on Cas and Becca.”  Sam took her hand and pulled her to the car, kissing her lightly on the lips before she slipped inside, hit the lights and revved the engine. Sam slid into the passenger’s seat and Beth rolled carefully out of the field, trying hard not to disturb the grass.  She reached out and touched the tree on the way by and the gunned the car as she chased after the taillights of the Impala. “Are you going to race him?”

“Nah, I think I’ve kicked him enough the last few days.” Beth shrugged, “getting beaten by a Ford would just set him off in a whole different way.”

“Why is it that he can feel some of your emotions and I can feel others?” Beth shrugged, watching the road.  

“Maybe it’s the rawness of it, but you know you can feel more than he can.”  

Sam rubbed his lips and smiled at her.  “You didn’t have to play drunk to get me into the bathroom.”

“Oh I wasn’t playing, that really is what it does to me.”  She grinned and watched the color change on his face as she reached over and gave his thigh a little squeeze.  When they pulled into the drive, Dean was waiting by the car, his usual stance was replaced by his head being down on the roof of the car.  “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know, guess we’re just going to have to ask,” but Beth didn’t like the way that Sam was grinning as the two of them walked up to Dean.  

Beth touched his arm softly and was completely thrown off guard as Dean wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her wholeheartedly on the lips.  Sam’s smile widened as he turned and made his way into the bunker, leaving them alone.

When Dean backed away it was only to give them enough room to breathe and he stared into her eyes.  “I needed that.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered against his lips. Dean nodded as he kissed her softly once again.  

“You’re so not sorry for earlier,” he smiled as his hand traveled to grasp her backside, “and the fact that my brother left me out here with you, still throws me off.”

“We need to go in and check on Cas, Dean,” but her tone just wasn’t as demanding as she wanted.  He nodded, placing his forehead against hers before slowly letting her go. 

With his hand in hers, the two walked it to the bunker. At the bottom of the ladder, Beth glanced over at Sam, exchanging knowing smiles and Dean made his way over to where Cas paced, staring up at the weapons on the wall.

“They’re gathering because of the blood that was split in the building,” he told the angel.  Cas looked over at Beth, who was just slipping her arms around Sam’s waist, and he sighed.

“Should they succeed, I have no idea what will happen to her,” Cas spoke softly, “the outcome could be catastrophic.”

“So we do something about it.”

“I agree.” 

“Tomorrow, we leave for Hyde Park,” Dean announced and turned towards Beth and Sam, “together.” 

  
  



	11. Nowhere to Hyde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Needing to face the past in order to save the future, Sam, Dean, and Beth head to Hyde Park, but how are they going to handle what comes next, and who is that man behind the curtain?

Nowhere to Hyde

SPNFanfic #11

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Crowley and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

Sam watched Beth as she moved things from one car to the other.  She mumbled under her breath, shook her head and dropped the bags carelessly in the trunk of the Impala. Something was bugging her, everything was bugging her lately, but he knew what was on her mind right now and she turned to move the last bag out of the Mustang, he stepped in front of her.

Beth stared at his chest, not that she minded the view, but her thought process was immediately interrupted and her eyes scanned the length of his body until she met those worried eyes.  “Puppy dog eyes” is what Dean always called them but she didn’t see a puppy, she saw a full-grown man who was solid and kept her grounded. She couldn’t help lick her lips and reach out to touch him, placing her hands on his chest as she ran them up to his shoulders.

“Stop worrying,” she whispered and felt his arms come down around her.  

“Easy to say when I spent most of the night just watching you,” he grinned and placed his lips against her forehead.  

“Why do you do that?  It’s not like I’m going to disappear, you have a direct psychic link to my brain.”  She smiled, reaching down to dig her fingers into his ribs, which he tried to get away from. She hadn’t heard him giggle, really laugh in a while so to see the smile reach his eyes from just a small tickle gave her some pleasure.  “Besides, if I did disappear, it would be all his fault.”

Sam turned to look at Dean as he stepped out towards the car and stopped, looking over both of their faces.  

Dean dropped the bags and raised his hands, “whatever it was, I didn’t do it.”

“You say that now,” Beth winked and Dean actually blushed, which made Sam laugh a little more as Dean suddenly wore a scowl and put his bags in the back of the Impala. Beth glanced up at Sam and gave a wide smile.

“That wasn’t nice,” Sam teased and she put her arms around him.  

“I never said I was nice, Sam Winchester,” she got up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips, “can we get this show on the road?”

“Are you going to say goodbye to Becca?”  Dean questioned, watching as she shook her head, held up her phone and sent a text, “we’re leaving” before climbing in the backseat of the ’67.  Dean shook his head as he threw a glance at Sam. “Your girl’s nuts.”

“She’s only “just” mine when she does something that makes you mad or makes you blush,” Sam laughed as he walked over to his side of the car.  Dean thought for a moment then nodded as he slipped in the driver’s seat.

Beth leaned over the seat with the phone in hand and put it in Dean’s face, showing him the text back from Becca.  It read: “Have fun! Cas and I are locking this place down!”

“I’m not so sure of leaving Cas and Becca alone, that could be a dangerous combination,” Dean whispered as he pulled out onto the road and glanced at Beth, whose earbuds were already in place. Sam smiled up in the rearview as she made herself comfortable before he looked at Dean. 

“Come on, Cas and Becca?”  Sam questioned which got one of Dean’s classic “you never know” looks.  “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

 

Beth lay sleeping, as usual across the backseat of the Impala as Dean cruised south down the back roads towards Hyde Park, NY.  Sam was deep in concentration over whatever mythology he was delving into and Dean quietly took in the peaceful surroundings as Kansas played on the radio.  No one would have known that the three of them were headed for a battle. This, to them, was another walk in the park, except the nightmarish memories that still bounced around Beth’s head had her groaning in her sleep.  

Sam picked his head up from the computer and turned to look at her as she lay there, her fingers the only thing on her that moved, but it was Dean’s expression that caught his real attention.

“You can see them, can’t you?”  Sam asked his older brother softly, and Dean gave a slight nod before tossing a glance his way.

“They’re not pretty.”  Dean exhaled and adjusted his hands on the steering wheel. “I wish she had let us know sooner, we could have helped her work through this.”

“Maybe this is her way of doing it,” Sam shrugged.  He only knew how they dealt with things, not how Beth did, but the concern in his brother’s eyes had him rubbing his.  

“Waking up twelve times a night isn’t going to do her any good when she starts to get tired.”  Dean frowned as Sam closed the laptop. “The lack of sleep is going to throw her off her game.”

“Can you do anything?”  Dean stared at him oddly, as if unsure of what he was asking.  “Dean, you can see them, I can’t, which means maybe you can block her from seeing them too.  You’ve been trying to figure out just how to get more in tune with her, maybe this is the way.”

“What do I do?”  

“Well, I would suggest pulling over to start.”  Sam was being a smartass now and Dean rolled his eyes, pulling the Impala over to the clearing on the side of the road, slipped it into park and cut the engine before he looked at his brother.

“Now what?”

“Close your eyes and concentrate on that dream, maybe if she knows you’re there, she can break free of it.”  

Dean leaned back in the seat, crossed his arms like he would if he were about to catch a nap and closed his eyes.  It didn’t take long for him to find himself in a dark building, or for his senses to fill with the rank smell of rotten meat.  This is what she dreamt about? No wonder she wasn’t sleeping. 

Dean stepped forward just a little and listened for her, “Beth?”

“Dean,” her voice wasn’t more than a whisper as her warm breath blew in his ear and he turned to find her crouched down behind him on the top of what looked like a butcher’s table.  She had a long hatchet with her and everything but her bright blue eyes was darkened with the crimson color of dried blood. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re dreaming, Kid, you need to snap out of it,” he replied, getting as close to her as possible, but it was the horrendous sound in the distance that made him twist in his spot and almost climb up on the table with her.  “What the hell was that?”

“Oh, only a Cyclops,” she mumbled and ran her hand down his face.  Dean could feel the stickiness of the dead man’s blood as she smeared him with his.  “If he smells you, you’re dead.”

“Great, what did Sam get me into?”  Dean mumbled as he stripped off his jacket and long sleeve shirt before he started to coat his arms and the undershirt with the foul smelling liquid.  “Why are you stuck in a dream about Cyclops? Have you ever even seen one?”

“Nope, but Hera does this to me all the time, something about Greek Mythology training.  If I can kill it here, I can do it in the real world, if not…” Beth hopped down and took his hand.  “Come on, Achilles, let’s go kill a Cyclops.”

“Beth, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Dean took the other blade she handed him and followed close behind.

“You and me both.” She mumbled in response as they made their way quietly through the halls, trying to find out where the monster had disappeared to.

In the main dining room, Dean could clearly see the nine-foot monster and he pulled Beth back behind him.  There had to be another way out of this dreamscape, but at the moment he had nothing but his instincts, which were pointing him in the direction of the creature in front of them.

Dean gestured to the left and Beth gave a quick nod before she disappeared around the tables as the beast before them roared again.  Dean headed towards the right, keeping one eye on Beth’s progress and one on the monster before they stopped, directly across from each other.  Beth gave a little nod as Dean raised his eyebrow and watched as she ran full force at the monster. 

Its huge hand swung around and sent her flying into overturned tables, and Dean took his cue, running, blade swinging at the thing, ducking as those arms came around his way.  Beth was up and moving once more as Dean landed a strike on its shoulder, which lodged the blade within its bone and suddenly Dean was weaponless. Beth kicked hers towards him as she pulled the seven-inch blade from the back of her jeans and climbed up on the tables.  

As Dean made his way around, swinging at every opportunity, the monster roared in pain.  Dean was caught off guard as Beth climbed higher on the stack of tables, which gave the creature just enough time to knock him down and send the blade flying again.  This was Beth’s opportunity. She jumped the best she could, as it focused on Dean and slammed the small blade down into the center of its eye.

Beth tucked and rolled as she let go and quickly made her way towards Dean as the light began to surround the creature.  Dean rolled her, covering not only her face but his as well as the bright white light engulfed the Cyclops.

 

Sam jumped as Dean and Beth sat up, gasping for air at the same time and looked around.  Dean felt for his jacket, the shirt and check the mirror for the blood smear but he was clean, then he turned and looked at Beth, who had flopped back on the seat once more.

“Can I just never sleep again?”  She moaned and rubbed her forehead.

“You were supposed to go in and block the dreams,” Sam whispered to Dean.

“Dude, she took out a Cyclops!” Dean exclaimed proudly as they both looked back at the woman who was once again sound asleep.  

“A what?”  Sam questioned, shocked but as quietly as possible.

“A Cyclops, you know One-Eyed, One-Horned?”

“That’s the Flying-Purple-People-Eater, Dean.”  Sam rolled his eyes.

“What?” the older one said confused, and rolled his eyes, “whatever, it was a Cyclops, old Greek Mythology.  I guess Hera has been sending her missions, dreams to help her train different monsters.”

“This can’t be good for Beth, she’s not getting any sleep.”  Sam watched as Dean took a deep breath.

“I’ll help her out as much as I can, you know I can go on four hours, she’s going to need more though.”  Sam smiled at Dean, who turned the key and got the engine purring again, then pulled out onto the road.

 

Beth slid over to the door behind Sam as Dean pulled into the Self-Storage place and keyed in the code she had given him for the gate.  It moved slowly than he had hoped but once he was able to squeeze the Impala by, he made his way through the maze of buildings looking for 143.  Once there, he shut the engine of and turned in the seat to watch her get out. 

Sam gave him a concerned glance before he opened his own door and decided to follow her.  The compartment was a small one, and she rolled the door up as if it were a garage large enough for a motorcycle.  Sam could clearly see, she had it all in order as rows of cabinets and open metal shelving lined the walls.

“You have stuff stashed everywhere,” Sam smiled in wonder as he picked up some of the small objects and leaned down to show Dean, who rolled his eyes, not particularly caring until  Sam let him see one of the old guns.

“Yes, and some of this “stuff” is old,” Beth laughed as she took the gun and set it gently on the shelf.

Dean was beside his brother almost instantaneously and the two of them took their time making their way to the back, where Beth kept what looked like a wine-rack full of maps and blueprints.  She was crouched down towards the floor as Dean stood behind her. When she turned to look up at him, he was grinning down like a fool, which was when she noticed his stance, and she backhanded him in the thigh before she went back to searching the papers.

He shook his head and crouched down, putting his elbows to his knees as she lowered down further to the ground.  “What exactly are you looking for, Slick?”

“Blueprints,” she replied sarcastically without looking back, which got an eye roll from Sam who was now going through her files.  “Sam, while you’re in there, look under the name Astraeus, in the Greek Mythology drawer, second one in on the bottom.”

Sam did as he was asked and pulled the dusty folder from the drawer, which he placed on top and flipped it open.  “Astraeus, Father of Winds.”

“And all the stars of heaven,” Beth smiled, turning to look at the two of them, “my grandfather was a big mythology buff. I stored all of his things here when I cleared out the basement for remodel.  These are all his files on everything in mythology, including the East Winds. I think that’s the best place to start. You can go through and find the names Eurus, Zephyrus, and Notus, if you want, but I’m pretty sure it’s in the file you have.”

Sam continued to look through the folder, engrossed with the research as Dean watched her shuffle through rolled papers, until she found the one she was looking for in the furthest bottom corner, which meant by the time she got there, she was practically lying on the floor.

“Damn, I guess I didn’t realized how much I wanted to bury this one,” she smiled at Dean and watched as he stood, reaching down a hand for her.  “Maybe on our way back we can pick some of this stuff up, I have a feeling we’re going to need some of those files.”

“We could also take a detour and get some books from the Men of Letters.”  Sam suggested and watched as Beth gave a quick shrug. 

“I would love to see where you two were hiding all this time,” she smiled and looked at Dean.

“Who was hiding?” He replied and kissed her on the forehead as he rolled down the door and locked it back up.  It was what she had replied to him when they first found out about her hidden home in New York. “Come on, how much longer do we have?”

“About an hour,” she replied, ducking into the back seat as Dean put the prints in the trunk.  Sam was so into the reading in his lap, he never seemed to notice the car start, until Beth nipped at his ear, breathing softly into it, and instantly he closed his eyes.  “I love an intellectual man.”

Sam tried to control his emotions as he fought to find the words but he just closed his fists on the papers and let her play with his ear, her fingers running through his hair on the other side.  Dean chuckled as he put the car in drive and made his way through the gate once more. When Beth sat back, Sam slowly opened his eyes and gave his brother sly grin before he shook his head. Dean’s smile got a little wider as they heard the light-eyed woman behind them start to hum.

Dean looked in the mirror and saw that her headphones were once again in her ears, blocking out what they were talking about.  

“Hey, Sammy, why do you think she keeps all that stuff?”  Sam stopped reading and thought for a moment.

“If we didn’t have the bunker, or Bobby, we probably would have had a place like that.  Dad used to.” Dean nodded, and repositioned his hand on the steering wheel.

“So why do you think she kept the stuff about the asylum if it gave her nightmares?”  Dean glanced over at him and watched his brother’s eyebrows crease before he gave a slight shrug.

“To remind her of what she did, so she wouldn’t do it again?”  Dean nodded, seemed to make sense to him. “Are you worried about her having it?”

“It’s just not something I would keep a memento of, ya know?”

“Yeah, me either, but Beth didn’t have a partner for a long time, we had each other.”  

“I guess,” Dean said softly, thinking about Beth being alone for so long, “well, she had us now so let’s make the most of it.”

“You know what I want?”  Sam questioned.

“Pie?”  Dean asked completely serious, but Sam just looked at him as Dean suddenly smiled.

“Tacos,” Sam replied which made Dean sit up and almost pull the car over.  

His voice went low and he looked at Sam with a playful scowl, “what the hell did you do with my brother?”  

“What?  I can’t want tacos?”

“You eat nothing but rabbit food most of the time and now you want tacos?  It’s a little concerning, okay?” Dean laughed and watched as Sam smiled. “To hell with it, let’s find a Mexican place.”

“There’s one by the motel,” Beth spoke up, which made both of them jump, “sorry, break in the song.”

“You booked us a room?”  Dean questioned.

“No, but the motel closest to the building has a taco place nearby,” she replied.

“Let me guess, it’s where you stayed.”  Dean watched her pop up between them and lean her head on the seat.  

“Actually, no, I didn’t really stay anywhere specific when I was in town for that,” she smiled, “but I did Google it.”

“When?”  Sam turned to look at her as she smiled. 

“When you said you wanted tacos.”  She kissed him on the cheek and went back to lying down on the seat.  Dean couldn’t help but shake his head. She was one strange character.

 

Beth was right, there was a taco place less than a block away from a not-to-shady motel located in an old industrial part of the city.  So, everyone was happy, Sam had his tacos, Dean found a place to gas up the Impala and they had pie and Beth was able to comfortably stretch out on one of the twin-sized beds in the room for a little while as she quietly ran through the layout of the building in her head.

While Dean ate in silence, watching Beth as she stared at the wall, Sam did the best he could to keep the taco sauce off the papers that he still had his nose buried in.  Neither of them spoke it aloud about the fact that she hadn’t eaten all day that worried them both, but they knew she would come around in her own time.

“So there isn’t much on Eurus, he seemed to be the quiet one of the brothers, with Boreas and Zephyrus causing the most trouble.  Your grandfather really dug deep to find some of this stuff, but all we have is that he’s an East Wind and that he had it out for his brother.  From what I can tell, he’s pretty hot headed, but then again they all were believed to be.” Sam shrugged, flipping through papers, “of course, it never tells you how to kill a God, especially one that controls the wind.”

Beth scooted off the bed and picked up the rolls that Dean had brought in from the trunk of the car. They watched as she positioned them along the wall, pinning them in a certain order before she backed away and stared at it for a while.

“We need to get in there and take a look around,” she said softly and glanced over at them, “anyone up for something dangerous?”

“Can I finish my pie first?”  Dean snapped and watched her roll her eyes, to which he just replied with a smile.

Sam stood and moved closer to her, as Beth paced impatiently.  She stopped in her tracks when she turned to look up at the man who had become a wall and shifted her weight on her leg, crossing her arms over her chest. Sam reached out and took her hands, trying to get her to relax as he held them gently.

“We’re going to finish this, there is no need to run guns blazing into a building full of Winders,” Sam whispered.

“I don’t want to run in, I want to burn it to the ground,” Beth sighed, “it’s standing there reminding me of the evil I’ve done.”

“We’ve all done something evil, Beth, but we do so much more good.” He watched her face as she looked down at the floor.

“Sometimes I don’t feel either,” her eyes trailing back up to his, “sometimes I don’t believe in the difference.  There’s no sides, no good or evil, because it’s all the same and some of us were born just to play its game to find out what we would do in whatever situation they gave us.  It’s like a betting game between the powers that be, what is this kid going to do? Kill or save? What if the monsters are just like us, pons?”

“You can’t think like that.”

“There comes a point where you can’t help it, you kill to become the monster that saves people,” she smiled as if it were a big cosmic joke, “what do you do then?”

“You fight,” Sam kissed her forehead, “and you let us fight with you.”

“So, let’s fight,” she shrugged, “let’s get in there so we can kick some Winder ass.”

“Alright,” Dean spoke up, standing as he finished the last piece of his pie and wiped his hands on the napkins, making Sam and Beth turn in his direction, “let’s kick some ass.”

 

The building was surrounded by chain-linked fence with only a few gates scattered around the property, and as much as they wanted to cut the chains and bring the Impala in, they knew it would be a bit much.  Dean parked just on the other side of another building and the three of them, with only the guns they could hide, snuck in through a loosely chained part of the fence. 

“ _ West side of the building _ ,” Beth used the telepathy to communicate and keep things as quiet as possible,  _ “one exit.” _

_ “Could you say it with a little more positivity next time?”  _  Dean questioned, being the one that trailed behind her, and watched as she flipped him the bird without looking back.

_ “How’s that for positivity?”  _ Beth laughed.

_ “Remind me when we’re done here to kick your ass.” _  Dean grinned as Sam stood on one side of the door and Beth slowly opened it.  

The taller man was in first, clearing the room and Beth and Dean followed close behind.  Dean used his signals to move them in different directions as they found their way through the different doorways and halls that made up the old hospital.  Gurneys and other equipment still filled the small spaces, as if they packed up and ran for their lives.

_ “Well, this isn’t creepy at all,”  _ Dean’s thoughts escaped him, giving the two ahead of him something to grin about.

_ “The stairway that goes up to the next level is just beyond the doors,”  _ Beth stopped as she felt another presence around her,  _ “but, I’m pretty sure we’ve got company coming.” _

_ “Three of them,”  _ Sam added and they all ducked back into the darkened doorways, Sam to the door on the left, Dean and Beth to the door on the right.

_ “Sam, don’t engage unless they see you,” _ Beth warned and watch him nod.  

All three stepped back once more, completely encased by the darkness of the room and watched as the three men walked by. She didn’t get it, all the baddies seemed to be big burly guys. Dean’s hand slipped around, holding her hip as he watched over her shoulder.  They passed without so much as a glance but Beth could feel them, she knew they could sense her at least and one moved back towards the door, Sam’s door.

He stopped just outside the darkened space and suddenly reached in, but he came out empty handed.  It confused the man and he slowly stepped into the room, where Beth and Dean heard the distinct sound of the breath leaving his lungs and the slow drag of a body to the floor.  Sam reached out, just to tickle her mind, but she knew it had triggered the others to respond.

The other two came back and Dean slipped by her as Sam appeared before them in the hallway, ready to engage.  She had watched them fight before, but never realized just how well they worked together. They were definitely not a tag team you messed with.  Sam could take over where Dean left off and vice versa. They took their hits though, which made them human, but they gave it back ten-fold, leaving the two bloodied bodies lying on the ground before their feet.

“We have to go,” Beth whispered as she stepped out and looked down the hallway, “there’s got to be about a dozen heading this way, I can feel them.”

“You’re the boss,” Dean answered, wiping the blood from his lip as the three of them made a break for the door they had come in from.  

They were just fast enough to get away from the incoming army, slipping out the door as the new arrivals found their fallen comrades, and the Impala was up and moving before they made it to the exit the trio had used. She blocked her thoughts, blocked the boys from feeling her or from feeling each other, and held that barrier until they made it back to the motel.

She rubbed her face as Dean stood behind the bathroom door, cleaning the blood from the cut on his head, and Sam sat on the bed watching her.  Beth stepped towards him, standing between his legs and tilted his head up so she could see the bloody lip and small split above his eyes. She gently took the cloth from his hand and wiped the blood from those two spots.

Sam placed his hands on her waist and closed his eyes, letting the touch of her hand against his skin relax the violence that grew in him.  It was a rage he didn’t understand and he didn’t like it.

“It calls to you,” she whispered, kissing him gently on the forehead, “the evil in that place makes you want to do bad things, really bad things.”

“But if I can feel it,” he glanced at the closed bathroom door.

“Don’t try to send your feelers out for him, he’s dealing with it in his own way,” Beth also looked at the door, “a very private way.”

“How are you dealing with it?” Sam pulled her down to sit on his lap and looked into her eyes.  

“You forget, I spent almost two years with that evil, I know how to block it out.” She gave him a little grin and Sam brought one of his hands up to run it through his hair.  He licked his lip, wincing at the pain as his tongue touched the break in his skin. “I could show you a great way to handle it, but he might walk out at any moment.”

“Are you spying on him?” he whispered as sly smile crossing his face, but Beth shook her head.

“I’m trying my very best not too, because if I open myself up to him, there is no way he would be able to handle the onslaught I have going on.”  Beth planted little kisses on his cheeks, and gently on the part of his lips that wasn’t hurting before he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and grasped a handful of her hair, giving a gentle tug to the back of her head. “Easy there, Cowboy.”

Sam’s breathing came faster, as he stared into her eyes.  Beth remained calm as his fingers kneaded at her back and in her hair. He fought with everything he had as he held her closely and then moved, putting her on her feet as the door to the bathroom opened and he ran in, slamming it behind him and the shower turned on.

Beth looked at Dean, at his frustrated face, as he walked over towards the bed, sitting down at the edge of the one closest to the bathroom.  Dean met her eyes as he rubbed his hands on his jeans. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“No,” she replied honestly, “the two of you have been through so much torment,” Beth paused, shaking her head as she failed to finish her thought.

“You could go help him.” Dean suggested which got a look from Beth.

“He’s afraid that he might hurt me,” she answered.

“Show him that he’s wrong.”  Dean raised his brows at her and Beth gave a sigh as she headed for the bathroom.  Dean watched as she glanced back at him, then disappeared into the steam. He smiled and lay back on the bed, letting out a quick breath.

 

Sam held her against the shower wall, he wasn’t doing anything but holding her there.  He didn’t want to touch her, kiss her or initiate anything, he had too much pent up…something…to even think of it.

“Why did you come in?”  He whispered with a voice full of confusion, his head against the wall near her ear.  “You knew it could be dangerous.”

“And I don’t care,” She looked up at him as he moved, the foot height difference didn’t stop her from challenging the man.  Sam brought up a shaking hand to touch her face, and she could see his lips shivering even with the hot water that poured over them.  “I’m not going to leave you to deal with this alone.”

“I can’t touch you, not like that. I’ll hurt you this time, I know I will.”  He placed the hand, the one that he was trying to use to stroke her cheek flat against the wall behind her. 

“You don’t have to, Sam, I’ll help you.”  She watched him close his eyes as her hands touched his waist and he let his head fall forward.  “Don’t think of anything else except me.” 

She found that little niche in his mind and slipped in, letting her thoughts block the overwhelming rage that filled him and she smiled.  

 

Beth stepped out, hair soaking the tee-shirt she was wearing and she glanced over at Dean, who she knew wasn’t sleeping.

“I’m not naked so you can stop pretending to be peeking.” She laughed and watched as he propped himself up on his elbows.

“How is he?”  

“He’ll survive.”

“How are you?”

“Peachy,” she answered, grabbing a change of clothes before she disappeared back into the bathroom.

_ Peachy _ didn’t tell him anything.

 

Dean looked up at Sam, who stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as Ali stared at the map they had hung above the dresser.  She had been looking at it for hours, and it wasn’t as if it were marked in any way that made sense, it was just a lay out of the old asylum. 

She tapped her fingers against her lips as she suddenly began to pace back and forth in front of it before she let out a sigh and tossed her hands up in frustration.  There was only one thing that she could think of doing, one way in and one way out without the possibility of getting caught in the crossfire of the East Winders.

She turned and looked Dean straight in the eyes and then stared up at the ceiling.  “Castiel!” Her sudden holler had Sam jumping a foot as he stood up straight and waited. “Cas!  Come on, I’ve never asked for anything, but I need your help on this one.”

Dean looked around, afraid that he wouldn’t come but as usual he was proven wrong.  Within seconds the Angel was standing there in front of them, frustration on his face.

“I’m sorry I took so long, Becca was having issues removing the wards.” Cas spoke gruffly, a little irritated but it was Dean’s face that made his brow crease.  “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Dean smiled, “but you do realize that it was literally two second from the time she called you to the time you showed up, right?”

“Time is irrelevant.”  Cas shrugged which made Sam grin as he took a seat, but the angel turned to Beth.  “What is it that you need, Beth?”

“A way in, and a way out without being seen,” she raised her eyebrows as she looked at the contemplation on his face then watched as he nodded.  “Are you sure it’s something you can do?”

“Yes, but there’s a price for it,” he glanced at the two men in the room.

“A really bad puke fest,” Dean sighed, “at least that’s what it did to me.”

“Wuss,” Beth mumbled and watched as he nonchalantly flipped her off while rubbing his temple, and she turned back to Cas, “okay, so bad rollercoaster ride, not an issue.”

“That’s not what I was talking about,” the man in the coat replied, which grabbed all of their attentions.  “In order for me to shield you from being seen, you must have your hand on me at all times.”

“I have to hold your hand?”  Beth questioned softly, to which Cas nodded in reply.  “How is this a price?”

“I would think holding another man’s hand would put a strain on the relationship you have with Dean and Sam.”  

Beth couldn’t help but smile as Dean and Sam both grinned and she turned to Dean for this one. “Cas, you’re family, our family, and we trust you with her.”  

“You’re confidence is appreciated.”  Cas replied, and looked down at Beth, “just call when you’re ready, I promised Becca I would help with the house wards.”

“I will,” Beth nodded and heard the flutters of his wings as he disappeared.

“You though,” Dean said as he went to walk by but whispered in her ear, “I’m not so sure I trust you with Cas, you might give him a run for his money.”

“Screw off, Winchester,” Beth laughed as she swatted at him, and missed as he hurried along.  Dean laughed all the way to the bathroom as Sam sat down on the bed she stood in front of. “That kid, in there, needs a good boot to the head.”

“Are you sure going in there with just Cas as backup is a good idea?”  Sam whispered, taking her hand as he pulled her down to sit on his lap.  Beth straddled his legs as he folded his fingers behind her waist. 

“Am I sure leaving you and butt-munch here alone while I do it, no, but I’m pretty sure Cas will have me covered.” She smiled and placed her arms up on his shoulder as she stared into his blue-green eyes.  “What’s really bothering you, Sam?”

He licked his lips, gave a little exhale and struggled to find the words before he settled on some simple ones. “I don’t want to lose you in there.”

“I’ll be with Cas the whole time.”

“And what if they angel proofed the place?”

“I’ve already made sure that hadn’t happened.” Beth tried to calm his nerves.  “Listen, Odysseus,” she winked and watched him roll his eyes, knowing the pet name bothered him, “you get me a battle plan to get to the room, and I’ll get you the numbers and ranks of the bastards protecting it.  It’s just an intel mission, Sam, nothing to really worry about.”

“It’s my job,” he grinned, “I live to annoy you with my constant badgering.”

“And I live to love you, now really,” she smirked, “kiss me before I have to sneak off with some angel.”

Sam pulled her in close and felt her warm soft lips touch his.  It was electrifying to have her in his arms and the kiss made the hair on his arms stand on end.  With the kind of power she had, there was no way he could hold out, and his pull to her was so strong, he never wanted to, of course, that was until Dean walked out of the bathroom.

“Awe, come on, this again?”  Dean pretended to be irritated, “you two need your own room,” but Beth laughed as he plopped down on the bed next to theirs then turned so he leaned against the headboard. “When we get back to the house, do you think we could soundproof the walls?”

“What?”  Sam laughed.

“You know, so I don’t have to hear you, and the other times, when I bring someone home,” Dean specifically set his sights on Beth’s face as he finished his sentence, “you won’t hear anything.”

She swallowed hard and glanced quickly away before she turned her ice blue eyes back at him with a sly grin.  “I think we could do that.”

It wasn’t the answer he was expecting but he had seen her reaction before she said it and knew it bothered her.  Beth slid off Sam’s lap and walked towards the door, grabbing her coat as she headed out to stand under the stars.

“Why did you say that?”  Sam questioned.

“I don’t know, because I’m an asshole.” Dean grumbled and shuffled off the bed, heading out the door after her.  She didn’t go far, she was standing right next to the support beam. “I’m sorry, Beth, that was a stupid thing to say.”

“It wasn’t,” she whispered and felt him step close behind her, his chest against her arms. “You have the right to bring people home, and it is your home too.  It just threw me a little. I guess I always thought that I could have you to myself.”

“You do,” Dean whispered, lowering his head so that he could whisper in her ear, “in the way that matters most, you have all of me.”

He kissed her softly on the cheek and turned to go inside, but Beth grabbed his hand and held on for just a few moments before she let him go and listened to him slip away.  With a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to tell them, she was just going to do it, then, at least, there would be no arguments.

“Cas,” she whispered, “it’s time to go.”

He appeared next to her, a strange reassurance in his eyes, and he stretched his hand out towards her.  Beth looked at it quickly before slipping her hand in his and felt him grip her tightly.

“Whatever happens, don’t let go,” his voice was commanding and suddenly, they were standing inside the building.  Beth looked around as she and Cas stood staring at the brown colored walls. “I can hear them calling for me.”

“They can wait,” Beth whispered as she started to step forward, but Cas stopped her.  

“You shouldn’t have left without telling them,” he scolded.  Beth moved closer to him and stared up, as if to tell him who was boss but she just raised her brows.

“The faster we move, the faster we get it done and get back to them, Cas.” She watched him nod and he followed her slowly as she made her way down around the corners, her hand latched tightly to his.  “Listen,” she stopped and the two could hear the muffled voices, “how many do you think there is?”

“I count twelve distinct voices, but another six heartbeats.”  Cas spoke up, and she smiled. “There are more on the other floors but this is the main congregation point.”

“Because this is where I spilled the most amount of blood.”

“How can you tell where you are?”

“I see this place every time I have a nightmare, Cas, you never forget where you almost died.”  Beth listened as some of the voices drew closer but Cas pressed her against the wall, using his body to shield her as they four men in robes passed by.  Beth rolled her eyes as he moved away and glanced down at her. “Too close, Cas.”

“I’m sorry,” he stated, but she knew he was just being protective.  

The two of them moved on, listening to the chants and when they reached the end of the hall, she could see into the space where she had killed the Berserker, and behind that, the room where Crowley had been held.  The wall that separated it was gone, the bricks lay on the floor as the workers all mumbled in the same monotone voice.

Beth stopped in the middle of the hallway, her eyes glued to the spot in the room where one man stood watching, his back to them.  He raised his hand slowly and the mumbling stopped. His dark suit was just something to help him blend in but as he turned his head ever so slightly, Beth’s heart dropped. There was no way in hell she was seeing what she was.  He twisted in the spot, his head cocked to the side, his blue eyes the same as the last time she had seen them and her heart pounded harder. 

The grip on Cas’ hand grew tighter as the man before her stood completely still, facing down the hallway as he tried to pinpoint their location.  She knew he could feel her, just by the way that his mouth curled up in that knowing smile and she stepped back against Cas.

“We need to go,” she whispered, grabbing his coat with her loose hand, “now!”

Cas moved as fast as possible and she found herself suddenly standing in the middle of the motel room, Sam and Dean both sitting on the beds.  She released Castiel’s hand and ran for the bathroom. The sickness in her stomach made her throw up what little she had eaten over the course of the day and then slowly she sank down to the tiled floor, her back against the ceramic tub.

Sam stood in the doorway, concern written on his face as her blue eyes weld up with tears.  “I swear I’m going to kill every last one of them.”

“What happened?” He crouched down in front of her as Dean and Cas moved towards the door.

“It was my father,” she whispered, shaking her head, “him but not him.  They’re using him, like a meat suit on strings.”

“They can’t use him, Beth, we burned him.”  Dean spoke up, trying to get her to understand that what she had seen wasn’t real, and while she knew that, her brain wouldn’t erase the picture.  “Beth, listen to me, we gave your dad a hunter’s funeral, you know that.”

“I know,” she replied, nodding, “I know.”

“Maybe it was a shifter?” Sam shrugged.

“Dean,” Cas nudged him and stepped back, letting the other man follow and when he was far enough away from the door, Cas continued, “the man she saw, the one in the suit, he was real.  There was nothing there that would suggest possession or anything other than humans.”

“So you’re saying that was Paul?”  Dean whispered and Cas nodded. “How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but I can find out.  You need to stay here, the room is warded and Beth is under numerous protection spells,” Cas stepped closer to Dean, “keep her safe.”

“Always,” Dean replied and suddenly Cas was gone.

 

Sam leaned back against the headboard, sitting up so that Beth fit in between his legs as Dean sat at the table watching something on the laptop.  She was sitting forward, just far enough away so that Sam could comfortably run his fingers up and down her spine which would get the occasional shiver from her as she watched Dean.  He was sitting with his fist closed, elbow on the table, leaning it against his cheek and he had a partial smile on his face.

“Do you remember when we were younger,” she said quietly, giving Sam a quick look, “the time that we got stuck out in the lightning storm in a barn off the property?”

Sam gave a crooked smile as his fingers trailed up her back once more, “yeah, that was the same time we snuck out to watch it but it was almost midnight and Dad and Paul had just got back from some hunting trip.”

“What was it they were following?”  Beth whispered, arching her back against his hand.

“A Chupacabra,” Dean replied, his voice muffled by his hand and Sam gave a little snort of a laugh.

“Yep, that was it,” Beth shook her head, “they were so pissed.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” Sam laughed, “two fourteen-year-olds sneak out of the house from under their older siblings’ nose and are nowhere to be found.  We’re lucky we got out of it with our heads attached.” Beth turned around fully and sat looking at him for a moment as she took his hand. “What?”

“Do you remember what happened that night?” She could hear Dean shift in his chair, hoping to hear better.

“I remember the loft, the blanket, the storm,” he winked at her, “you…”

“I meant the other thing that happened that night,” she laughed as Dean coughed into his hand.

“Oh, you mean that thing.” 

This time Dean wasn’t quiet about the fact that he was listening. “Wait, what thing?” 

“Well, the storm was a little strange,” Sam answered as Dean moved to the other bed, “but I don’t remember a time when the weather up your way was normal.”

“Ha, nothing about us is normal, why would the weather be.” Beth laughed.  

“What was it about the storm?”  Dean was curious now and they weren’t answering him fast enough.  

“It wasn’t so much the storm as it was what was in it.” Sam shrugged.

“At the time we thought it was an angel, thought my mom had come back to visit,” Beth smiled but then it slowly faded, “but that was when we noticed the way the wind and rain was coming in.  They said it was supposed to be a small chance of a storm and not even a real possibility of it hitting us but it was wild, like…”

“Monsoon season,” Sam answered and the two of them stared at each other, “that’s what you called it. The ground was soaked, there was no way it could keep up but it was warm, like a tropical storm.”

“What makes that so strange?” Dean decided that sitting was just too much for him and he slid down between the beds to use them as a backrest.

“There’s nothing warm about a thunderstorm in New York, at least not in November.”  Sam shrugged.

“Good point.”

“There was something in the clouds, you could see it every time the lightning struck,” Beth added.

“It was blue too.”

“Blue lightning?”  Dean asked, his eyebrows raised and Sam nodded, “and you saw an angel?”

“I don’t think it was an angel, not anymore,” Beth sighed.  “I think it was an East Wind.”

“How so?”

“They’re pretty powerful, but something about this whole thing just seems wrong.  The storm that night was different than our little Winders right now,” she whispered and watched as Sam sighed.  “How long did Cas say we had to stay in here?”

“Are you getting tired?” Dean whispered and watched her nod. 

Sam got up from the bed and let her lay down on her side, and turned off the lights before climbing over behind her.  Dean moved the table that separated the beds and pushed his twin over to touch theirs. Sam had asked him for help with her dreams, he had to be close enough to do it.

“Don’t sleep too long,” she sighed as her eyes closed, one hand grasping Sam’s fingers, the other reaching out for Dean.  He was a bit wary about taking it, but Sam gave him a small smile before letting his own lids close and Dean scooted close enough to take her hand with both of his. Three hours was all she needed.

 

“So how do you fight twenty East Winders who know exactly where you are when only one of them looks at you?” Dean’s voice was full of agitation as he asked the question, rubbing his forehead. The coffee that Sam had managed to get from the office wasn’t strong enough to shake the fog from his mind, especially after one of Beth’s dreams.

Sam was the one pacing this time as Beth lay on the bed, her arms crossed behind her head as she stared at the ceiling.  Beth could feel the tension in the air and knew that this long night was going to get even longer if they didn’t get out and take care of this issue. The three of them were good together, but everyone, especially hunters, got fidgety when they felt trapped.

“First Contact,” Sam stated as he pivoted on his feet to rest against the dresser.  Beth sat up slowly and looked at him, then at Dean who gave her a shrug, which is when Sam decided it was time to elaborate further.  “Star Trek: The Next Generation, where they face the Borg.”

“With Picard?”  Dean spoke up.

“Okay, you lost me at Star Trek.” Beth admitted which made both heads whip in her direction.  “Sorry, not a movie fan!”

“Star Trek is one of the biggest Fandoms in the world,” Dean gave her such a disgusted face that she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, okay Trekkie,” that term she knew, mocking Dean who crossed his arms and leaned back in the seat, but Beth looked up at Sam, “keep going.”

“Anyway, in the movie they’re dealing with a hive mind,” Sam explained and Dean sat forward.

“Like the East Winders,” Dean watched him nod.

“How did they stop it?” Beth moved to the edge of the bed and watched as Sam smiled.

“They killed the Queen,” he shrugged, and watched as Beth nodded.

“So all we have to do is get in a building that is patrolled and protected almost as well as Fort Knox and take out the Hive mind by killing the Queen, sorry the King?”  She watched as he gave another little shrug and she let it sink in for a moment. “Well, it’s not the dumbest strategy we’ve come up with. How do we get in?”

“Castiel.” Dean whispered.

“Of course, we could just have an angel zap us…”she looked up to see both boys staring at the man in the coat who stood just beyond her near the bathroom door, “in there.” She stood as she watched his face.  “What happened?”

“The East Winds attacked the property, the boundary spells works and kept them clear of the house and the bunker,” Cas spoke up.

“But?”  Dean waited for the rest of it.

“But, they’re attacking the town.” Beth let out a breath and closed her eyes as Dean grumbled his usual “son of a bitch” under his breath.  Sam just stood up more and approached him.

“Can you do what we need?  Can you get the three of us in?” Sam inquired.

“I can transport all three of you, yes.”

“Alright,” Beth walked over and placed a hand on Cas’ arm, looking up at the panic in his eyes, “you bring us there and then you go back and help the town.”  He wanted to say something but she shook her head. “Cas I know you, you’ve stopped bigger things than this, just make sure you don’t take out any humans in the process.”

“Agreed.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Dean tossed the bag on the bed and the three of them started to fill them with every weapon they could carry.  

_ East Winders are essentially still human, anything with bullets will stop them, you just have to aim for the head. _ Beth’s voice invaded the minds of the two men in the room.  She wasn’t telling it to them, she was making sure she understood the rules as she unclipped the magazine and checked for the olive bullets she still stocked it with.   _ One good shot off and the bastards will go down.  Let’s hope it’s just that easy for the power inside my father. _

Beth slid the clip back in place and listened to it lock before she slipped into the arch of her back.  When she looked up both Sam and Dean were staring at her, but she zipped the bag shut and turned away. 

Dean’s eyes locked on his brother’s and he sighed, but Sam gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before he picked up the bag and walked towards Cas.  Dean placed the shotgun in the bag, let out a little breath before zipping it tight and slipping his arm into the straps. He stepped up to Cas, the angel in front of him and Beth tucked between the three of them.

“Beam me up, Cassie.”  Beth smiled and watched Dean give a little grin.  She waited for Cas to make some sort of reply but he just looked down at her.  

The room he brought them to was at the end of the longest hallway on the blood floor.  Cas glanced between all of them, not offering any words of encouragement or otherwise before he disappeared once again.

Beth pulled the gun out, her mind set on the map that was tacked to the wall of the hotel room and she turned to look at the boys.  

“This place is one big square, the hallways all connect, but there is something about that last room, the office that sets it off from the others.”  Beth shrugged, “you can’t get there unless you know where you’re going.”

“Well that’s just peachy,” Dean took out his gun and let the slide on the Colt click into place, loading one in the chamber.  Sam pulled Beth to him and kissed her softly on the lips, as Dean’s jaw clenched. “We’ll have time for that later, lovers, let’s get this done and over with.” Beth made her way to the door but as she passed Dean, he gently took her hand and tugged her close enough so he could whisper while peering down into her eyes. “When we get home, I think you and I should have a little pow-wow.”

“Depends,” she smiled, trying to lighten his mood, “your definition of pow-wow or mine.”

Beth winked and slipped away from him, making Dean give Sam a smug little grin as the younger one smirked and followed her out of the room.  They stayed close, Dean in front, Sam behind as Beth guided them through the hallway. She knew it with her eyes closed, could see the images of each demon she destroyed but there was only one on her mind right now and he needed to go down. 

“Can you use your Jedi mind tricks in here?”  Dean whispered and watched as Beth glanced back at him.

_ “I can try,” _ her voice tickled his thoughts as he smiled and watched her peek around,  _ “you try?” _

_ “This is really weird for me.” _  Dean grinned as he could suddenly feel the emotions that ran through her.

_ “As long as you keep your thoughts in check, Dean,” _ Sam’s mind touched his and Dean jumped at bit at the shock.

_ “Great, now I’m getting a Vulcan Mind Meld from my brother, can this night get any more interesting?” _  Beth tried her hardest not to laugh out loud and put her hand up, stopping the men in their tracks.  She pointed to her ears, not wanting to use the telepathy more than she needed to, and pointed around the corner.  Dean could barely make out the sounds that came their way.

_ “The jig is up,” _ Beth slowly raised her arm and put the sight on whatever might come around the corner.  

The first blast of the gun was from Dean as three of the cloaked Winders came around swinging, but the shots that fired after were from Sam’s.  Straight shots to the head, and down they went, but like Beth had said, their cover was blown and she could hear the rest of them headed her way.

“I need to get to that room,”  she glanced up at Dean, then at Sam, “no matter what happens, keep shooting, don’t let them get you, and for Pete’s sake, don’t get killed or worse.”

Beth ducked between them, leading the way as they fought against the massive onslaught of people.  She tried to keep count as the bodies hit the floor. Twenty or so, that was the last count, but she had a feeling reinforcements were called and they were in for a wild ride.

Dean and Sam were in a swinging match with several of the baddies, but the plan all along had been the same, Beth was in route to the room.  She ducked and weaved out of rooms as Winders came and went, but she kept her feelers out for Sam and Dean as she made her way through the second hallway. The third posed more of an issue, there were others, guarding the way.

Beth smiled as she stepped into the middle of the hall. All of Hera’s dreamscape training hadn’t been for nothing.  She knew these monsters, Lampades, Greek fire spirits of the underworld, and she knew just what to do to get rid of them.

As the trios eyes blazed with the heat of the fire within them, Beth raised her hand, keeping her cool nature as she gathered the strength around her.  She knew it would take from Sam and Dean and they were prepared as she touched each one with her thoughts. Swallowing hard, she pressed the chill from the palm of her hand and watched as the light blinded her before the others could even get a match lit.  The frost froze their bodies in place, a look of terror etched onto each face, and she felt Sam round the corner, his breath coming quickly. Dean was right behind him, both bloodied and bruised from the East Winder and Beth raised the gun.

“What are you doing?”  Sam questioned.

“They’re going to thaw out, they’re fire spirits,” she replied, her tone void of emotion, “not someone I want to play with after icing them.” She shot off three rounds, one in each stiff body and watched as they shattered like glass. “Huh,” she whispered, “it’s like they were shot with liquid Nitrogen.”

“Don’t go patting yourself on the back just yet,” Dean stated as he walked by, but Sam watched Beth shrug it off as they followed.

 

The room at the end of the hallways was just as freaky as she remembered.  The men that stood guarding it didn’t move, even as Beth peeked around the corner to investigate.  She placed her back against the wall, and went back and forth between the two men who were awaiting her instruction.  She looked out once more and shook her head.

“I’ve got nothing.”  She shrugged.

“No plan B?” Dean questioned.

“I got zip.” 

“That’s just perfect.”  She knew that the boys were going to start to feel the rage at any time.  There was only so long she could keep the wall up before it came crashing down. “What now?”

“You two stay here and I sneak in,” she suggested which got just the looks she wanted from them.

“No way in hell,” Sam snapped and she knew it was pretty much over.  She stepped forward and placed one hand on each of them while she took a deep breath.

“It’s coming down, guys, and I mean hard,” she could see it in Sam’s eyes, “the rage you felt earlier in the hotel room, there is no jerking it away, this time you’ll be out for blood.”  

“So what do we do with it?” 

“Don’t use it to kill each other.”  She grasped Sam by the collar and brought him down, kissing him passionately before she let go and did the same to Dean. “Remember what you are to each other, and to me.”

“What hell are you going to do?”  Dean questioned as he grabbed her hand, holding it gently in his. 

“I’m going to get the ball rolling on this little party, you two, take out whatever Winders come out of that room.  I get the Paul-Suit.” Beth stepped away, slipping from his grasp as she moved around the corner, leaving the boys to wait for the next move.  

Sam could see the way she used the shadows to hide herself and the way that the mental block worked on the men who stood there.  She was virtually invisible. He watched as she slipped passed the men at the door and disappeared into the room.

He could feel it then, the block inside him came crashing down around him and there was no way to hold the anger back.  Sam looked over at Dean, who held the blade in one hand, the gun in the other ready to fight.

“She said to use this,” Sam whispered, “let’s do it.”

“After you.”  Dean replied and the two of them stepped out into the hallway.  

The seven men who guarded the entrance advanced at them without hesitation and Dean heard the first of three shots fire off from behind him.  Sam came out welding a machete and the two of them felt as though they were walking into a Spartan battle, no holds barred.

 

She watched as he stood before an altar, speaking something in Greek, a subject she intended on brushing up on once she got home, if she made it that far.  She knew it was a spell, something that had to do with her blood because she could feel the pull of it, but there was something else underneath that made her heart pound against her chest.

She had taken care of the six others that were in the room.  They didn’t pose a threat to her in anyway, especially with the business end of gun, but she was curious as to why it was so easy.  The man in the suit turned from his purpose and smiled at her. 

Beth approached him cautiously as she stepped into the room, making sure to avoid the bodies she had dropped and he watched her approach.  He looked just like him, right down to the small scar on his cheek and if it weren’t for the fact that she had seen where Dean had buried the bones, she would have sworn that it was her father standing right in front of her.

“So, you’re the father of the East Winds.”  She whispered; the Colt steady in her hands.

“I am,” he smiled and watched as she stopped.  “My name is Eurus, and I am, essentially, your uncle.”

“Great, I hate family reunions.”  Beth listened to the boys in her head, they were holding their own against the onslaught of dozens of Winders that had invaded the hallways.  The door behind her suddenly slammed shut with enough force to move the bodies in the way and Beth glanced back, impressed but not surprised. “Why him?”

“Because I like to get under your skin.” Eurus replied and folded his hands behind his back as he took in the sight of the small woman before him.  It was then that she noticed even her mind had gone silent. He had blocked out the boys. “Do you know why you’re here?”

“Because you’re the bad guy and it’s my job to kill you.”  Beth shrugged, just guessing, but he laughed at her.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

“Because just like any other God, you have some sort of vendetta,” she rolled her eyes and watched him grin.

“I volunteered to come here and take care of you myself,” he stepped back to lean against the counter, his face never changing expressions as he did so. “My brother, Boreas, ah, he was always the more favored one of the four of us, even though he was violent and destructive, I was the least.”

“Well with this kind of whiney attitude, I can see why,” Beth interrupted, which got her nothing but a nasty look from the God, “oh, I’m sorry, please continue.”

“He always got his way, a bit like you from what I understand.  He thought he was, how would you say it, entitled.” Beth watched his movements, studied the way he held himself and she realized whoever it was inside that body hadn’t possessed one in a very long time.  The “Paul” suit he wore moved awkwardly and uncoordinated. “I saw this as a perfect opportunity to take out the last of his line, the last of the North Winds.”

“So you’re doing this because you’re a spoiled brat that never got your way?”  Beth sneered, “Petty and predictable from any God.”

“What do you know about Gods, Child?”  Apparently, what she said had caused a little bit of the fury in him to come forward, something she stashed in the back of her mind.  

“I’ve run into a few in my time,” she tucked the gun behind her and clicked the safety on and then off, a ritual she had always done when facing an opponent.  “Ares, childish coward; a few nymphs, one good, a few that needed to be iced, and oh yeah, a few Harpies that are now headless.”

“Yes, you are definitely my brother’s child, violent and destructive. Look at what you did here so many years ago but this place still shows your anger.”  He breathed in deeply, “In fact, I can still smell the rage that saturates the walls, pungently and leaves a nasty taste on your tongue.”

“Who’s controlling the Gods?”  Beth questioned, tired of his rambling.

“You really believe one person can control the old Gods?”  Eurus laughed, “No one can control them, but someone can definitely call on them.  They just need, no want, to get revenge.”

“Who?” She pulled the gun and pointed it at the man who slowly began to resemble her father less and less. “Just give me a name.”

The man in front of her smiled widely.  “Someone who hates you and the Winchesters, someone so powerful that his need for revenge was enough to call up the Gods.”

Beth stopped for a moment.  Who would hate the Winchesters and her so much that they would want this kind of war? Her finger lingered on the trigger as her mind thought of all the people in her life but there was nothing she could come up with.

 

Sam slashed with everything he had but he stopped suddenly as he noticed the quietness in his mind, and he looked across the hall at Dean, who seemed to have sensed the same thing.  Both of them had a second to catch their breath, but their only thought was the fact that they were cut off from Beth. In the same movement both of them bolted for the door, hitting it full force with all of their weight behind it, but the door didn’t budge.

They only had one try before the Winders came at them again, and Dean got off a shot, dropping one as Sam sliced the one closest to him.  There was no denying this was a bloodbath but neither cared at the moment. There were two things controlling them, the rage and the need to get to Beth. 

That was when they felt the evil that flooded the hall, an evil so intense that even Sam and Dean wanted to run and hide from it, but they stood their ground as the darkness that filled the building descended on them.  Sam and Dean turned their heads glancing at each other, positioned themselves for another fight, but the blackness did nothing to them, in fact it passed them over, and blinding them into nothingness for a moment before it released them.

A silence filled the hall for just a moment before the screams of more oncoming Winders invaded their senses and once again the battle was on.

 

Beth felt it enter the building, an undeniable presence that took over her senses and made her tremble inside, not from true fear but from the feeling of it.  She could feel the darkness spread throughout the building, and she recognized it. She stood straight as she faced Eurus, her heartbeat wildly but her voice steady.

“Let them go,” she raised the gun into her sights, “you want this war over, you want to end your brother’s line, let the Winchesters go.”

“You really think I would just let them leave?”  He laughed.

“You must not know the whole story then, about the North Wind and her protectors.” Beth gave him a sly grin, “they are my power, my strength.  My Warrior and my Strategy, without them, I’m just a girl.”

The voice that whispered in her thoughts wasn’t Sam or Dean, in fact it was the first time she noticed how silent the hall outside was. “You can finish your spell, kill me, turn me, whatever you and your little minions were thinking of doing with my blood.” The voice seemed to get louder, as she felt the fear build in her. Evil was closing in but she could tell that Eurus had no idea about it.  He couldn’t feel it because he was stretched too thin. “Last chance, Winder; release them or take me on.”

“I think I’ll take my chances, and then take the Winchesters back to him.”

She felt the flutter in her stomach as the evil entered the room, seeping into the darkened corners and shadows that the candlelight made, and slowly as smile spread across her face, one that confused the man/God before her.

“So be it.”  With that she shot off the gun, the bullet flew straight at his heart.  She was over looking at her father, through with the words that left his mouth but he laughed at her as the bullet lodged against this ribs.  Beth lowered the gun to her side, listening to his mocking chuckle.

“Did you really think it was that easy?”  He questioned, dusting off and straightening his jacket.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged and smiled, “I wasn’t really trying. I figured I would just give him time to have a swing at it.”

Eurus turned and looked at the man who stood behind him, dressed in the designer black suit he loved so much. Crowley stood there with a smug look on his face and it slowly faded as he swung the iron blade, lopping off the East Wind’s head.  Beth put her foot on it, stopping the body part from rolling across the floor. The bulk of Eurus’ body stood straight for a little bit before Crowley gave it a gentle push with one finger, sending it thumping against the floor.

“What the hell are you doing here?”  Beth snapped as she placed the gun in the back of her jeans and walked over to the spot where she had found Crowley all those years ago.  “I thought you weren’t going to get involved because of the spell?”

“Well aren’t you just full of sparkles and rainbows?”  Crowley snapped back, following her. “Let’s not forget I just saved your ass.”

“You want me to be grateful, get the boys out of here!” She replied, looking over at him, “With Eurus dead, these Winders are going to go on a killing spree.”

“Not that you’ve left many more alive,” Crowley mumbled as she picked up a blade.

“More souls for you,” she said, pointing the tip at him.

“Fair enough,” he answered and popped out of the room.

 

Dean looked up from where he sat, a Winder about ready to smash him with a mallet, his gun across the hall and the blade he had been swinging with such ease had bounced off the wall somewhere. He stared at Crowley as the blade swung and the bad guys head went rolling.  Crowley reached down, grabbing Dean by the collar of his bloodstained shirt and suddenly Dean found himself against the fence outside the building.

The King of Hell tapped him with the tip of the blade, not hard enough to even puncture.  “You stay there, I’ll be right back.”

 

Sam swung his fist as hard as he could, sending the man in front of him sailing across the floor as another one came at him.  He was just about to swing again when he felt a hand on his shoulder and was zapped out into the sunlight. Sam looked down at Dean, as he stared up at Crowley, who was gone in an instant.

“Dean?”  He questioned, kneeling down beside his bloodied brother, the right eye starting to swell shut, but Dean’s gaze was locked on the building.

 

Beth grabbed a large wrench that lay on the floor next to the dismantled wall and made her way over to the copper pipes.  She glanced back as Eurus disappeared in a blinding white light, just as Crowley appeared in the room his arm over his eyes.

“I forgot to warn you about that,” she spoke up, twisting the wrench in the direction of where the body used to be, “it’s kind of irritating really.”

“Well, for you it would be considering you love the carnage,” Crowley stepped passed the bodies, his hands tucked into his pockets as he watched her turn back to the wall.  “What are you playing with over there?”

“Gas pipe,” she smiled and went to swing at it but found his hand on her wrist.

“Are you trying to blow yourself up?”  He questioned, and watched her shrug.

“No, just trying to bring this place down,” he was enjoying the fact that she was being so honest with him as she released the wrench and let him have it.  Crowley walked over and twisted at the joint, pulling it apart and she could smell the way the room filled with the odor of the old gas line. “So what was the spell they were trying to do?”

“Old Wind crap,” Beth sighed and sat against the counter, “when the blood of a rage-filled fury, that would be me, combines with that of a demon, well that would be you, they can use it to turn a God, or demigod, whatever to their choosing.”  She tried to sum up what she heard but her head hurt and she was a little high from the fumes. “Basically, me, the old me that helped you times ten-thousand.”

“Well, that certainly wouldn’t have been good for you,” she watched him twirl the wrench in his hands.  “I mean, good for me, soul are a hot commodity, bad for you and your little playmates outside. I’ve seen you on a rage trip, Peterson, not a pretty sight for those on the other end.”

“Not a pretty sight for anyone,” she laughed and sat forward, “especially since that would make you involved, as in your rage times ten-thousand.”

“Oh, yeah, very bad business then.”  Beth nodded. “Well, shall we go?” Crowley questioned and walked over to where she sat. 

Beth nodded, gave the place one more look and felt him place a hand on her arm, just as he swung the wrench against the bricks, sparking a fire that sent the inside of the building exploding out the windows.

 

Sam was applying pressure to the wound on Dean’s head when they heard the first blast and watched as fire and brick sailed out the second story window.  Sam stood up, his eyes filled with fear as the next explosion nearly sent him topping over.

“BETH!”  He screamed, his heartbeat wildly as he stared.  He could feel Dean’s hand on his arm, and helped his brother stand up before they both slipped through the gate, giving themselves a little distance between the fire and debris.  Sam sat down in the grass, he couldn’t feel her, couldn’t hear her and the silence in his head seemed to ring out in his ears. “She can’t still be in there.”

“Sam?”  Dean whispered as he toppled back, unsteady on his feet but as Sam turned to help him, his breath caught in his throat.  Dean was being supported by Beth as she helped lower him to the ground. “Beth.”

“Crowley, can you clean him up?”  She questioned, glancing up at the King of Hell.

“For you, darling, anything,” he smiled smugly and knelt down beside the older brother.  “This isn’t the way I usually swing, but for your girl, I’m going to make this one exception.”  

He placed his finger against Dean’s forehead and instantly the wounds were gone.  When he stood, he glanced back at Beth, winked and disappeared.

Beth stood as Sam moved towards her, picking her up in his arms as he tried to control the fear, anger and relief he felt all in the same moment as his knees gave out and he stumbled with her to the ground, he kissed her wanting nothing more than to feel her breath against him.

When Sam finally released his hold on her, Beth looked over at Dean, who stood on his own feet and opened his arms.  She stood and moved towards him, letting the strength of him surround her and Dean looked up at Sam, shaking his head, unsure he even wanted to know what happened.

 

Beth was laying on the bed, showered and changed, this time into one of the boys long shirts and a blanket over her lap as her wet hair soaked the pillow.  She could hear Dean in the shower, singing “Renegade” by Styx at the top of his lungs. Sam had showered with Beth but he was over by the computer, watching the fire trucks from the window as they tried to contain the fire at the old asylum.

“You really took that thing out,” Sam shook his head as he saw another ladder truck fly by. 

“I had help,” Beth shrugged looking at the bathroom door, “I have never heard a man sing so off key.”

“Beth,” Sam whispered, catching her attention as she turned on the bed, making sure the blanket stayed covering the lower half of her body.  “I think we need to talk about something else besides Dean’s singing.”

“You’re talking about Crowley?”  She questioned and watched as he nodded.  “I had no idea he was going to show up, in fact, it wasn’t until I had time to process the spell that I even had a clue they needed him too.”

“What spell?”

“I told you how I was when I worked with Crowley, this spell would have made me into a Berserker, but much, much worse.”  Beth sighed.

“You don’t seem too upset about it.” Sam sighed and Beth smiled.

“I can’t let myself be upset, Sam, I just want to forget it.”  He watched as her eyes began to glisten and she blinked back the tears.  “I’ve caused so much pain with what I did, and now I put the two of you in the middle of it.  The faster that place burns the more it eases and the less I feel like a monster.”

“You’re not a monster,” Sam said crawling up on the bed beside her.  He lay on his side, touching her face gently as she placed an arm under her head.  “I wish you would believe that.”

“I’m trying, Sam, I really am.”  She wiped her eyes and gave him a small smile.  “I just want to go back to what we used to do, hunting things, saving people, the normal crap of our day to day lives.  To hell with the Olympians, if they find us, they find us. I don’t want to look for it anymore, I just want to do what we do best.”

“I agree,” Dean spoke up, stepping shirtless out of the bathroom and Beth turned over to look at him.  He glanced down at her a little uncomfortable to be so exposed at that moment. “You stole my shirt, you little Demon.”

“I could take it off right now,” she said as she went for the buttons but Sam took her hand and Dean raised his own.

“No, no,” he stated, a little unsure of why he would deny himself that pleasure but he sighed, “keep it on.  I’m sure I have a tee-shirt without Winder goo on it somewhere.”

“Do you want one of mine?”  Sam laughed but Dean smiled with pride as he pulled a wrinkled one out of the bag.

“Nope, found one.” Beth smiled as she turned back over towards Sam and suddenly felt the weight of the bed behind her shift and Dean was spooning up against her.  “Now, this is just awkward.”

“Ya think?”  Sam grinned as Beth scooted further over onto the bed.  

“This is getting a little too close for comfort,” Beth looked over her shoulder at him.  “Dean, seriously.”

“Okay, okay, but remember you owe me a pow-wow.”  He slipped away and jumped onto the other bed. “We have until ten to get some rest and head home.”

“Yeah, home.” Sam laughed.

“Shit!”  Beth sat straight up.  “Castiel!”

“What?”  The Angel replied as soon as his name was mentioned. Beth, Sam and Dean looked towards the window as Cas stood staring out it at the fire trucks.  “What’s going on over there?”

“Hurricane Beth destroyed a building.”  Dean mocked and watched as Beth gave him a nasty look.

“Cas, the town, what’s going on in town?”  She asked, impatiently.

“They all disappeared,” Cas replied and shook his head. “The wards must have done some good, there isn’t much damage and no lives were lost.”

“Oh good, and Becca?”  Beth watched as Cas stood there silent for a moment, which made Beth shift off the bed and walk towards him.  “Castiel?”

“She’s fine.”  Beth sighed with relief, but the look on his face told him something else was brewing.  “What does “you should stay for coffee” mean?”

“Probably it means she wants you to stay for coffee.”  Beth smiled.

“Or Pie!”  Dean giggled.

“I don’t understand that reference,” Cas answered him and watched as Sam shook his head.

“No, Cas, sometimes friends hang out after something like this, kind of a down time to reflect on what they just accomplished.”  Beth took his hand in his, a gesture that Cas was unsure of and looked up into her eyes. “She’s your friend, she cares about you, and she wants to spend time with her friend after a stressful night, that’s all.  The coffee part was just a way of asking you to come over.”

“Oh,” he narrowed his eyes as he came a little closer, “so it doesn’t have anything to do with sex.”

Beth quickly looked over at Sam and Dean, who were both grinning widely and she slowly turned back to Cas, shaking her head slightly.  “Ah, that might be something you and Becca talk about. I haven’t got a clue on that one.”

“Okay,” was all he replied.

“Cas, tell her we’ll be home tonight, we’re just going to get some sleep and then get on the road.”  Cas nodded and suddenly disappeared.

Beth walked back to the bed, eyes wide and she tried to blink away the thoughts running through her head.  She climbed up beside Sam on the bed as he lay on his back and Dean got comfortable on his stomach on his own.  She placed her head on Sam’s chest but picked it up again to glance between them.

“You don’t think…?” She didn’t finish her thought as the two men chuckled at her, but she was serious.  “Oh, God, I hope they don’t use my couches, I just bought those.”

“Beth,” Dean laughed, “go to sleep, tomorrow we start over.”

“Right, the Family Business.”  Sam added, pulling her to him, kissing her forehead, one hand intertwined with hers. 

Beth closed her eyes, her other hand stretched out towards Dean, as she curled up with Sam.  It wasn’t an unusual position for Sam to find her in and even as Dean slowly fell into a light sleep, he watched his older brother reach out in her direction as he faced them both.

 

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

 

The night wasn’t over, Glenn Morgan was sure that he could get a couple more episodes of “Criminal Minds” in before he had to leave for his morning shift at the local factory, but being up all night wasn’t really an issue for him.  He did it all the time, so today wouldn’t be much different.

As the thrilling sound of the opening credits began to play, loudly, Glenn heard the soft knock on the door.  He wanted to ignore it, because who the hell would be out this early in the morning, but the knock came again, this time a bit louder, just as an action scene rolled onto the screen.  He was going to let them go right on knocking but he swore he heard his name through the door.

Pressing the pause button on his DVR, he stood up from the chair and made his way towards the door.  Peering through the peephole, he swore he saw his mother standing outside, her arms crossed over her bare-arms as she shivered in the night air.  With a sigh, wondering what the old bat was doing out at this time of night, he swung the door open and looked at her.

“Well, don’t just stand there, come in,” he stated in a disrespectful voice as the older woman grinned and took a step over the threshold.

Glenn couldn’t even process what happened next as he closed the door behind her, before turning to address her but it wasn’t his mother looking at him anymore, it was a man, with long fangs that took up his whole mouth, and a slick head of no hair.  His eyes were burning bright red and the growl that emanated from his was terrifying. 

Glenn tried to scream as the man came at him, latching down on his neck with razor sharp teeth, piercing the skin as the blood began to fly in every direction when the creature punctured his jugular.  The claws on his hand ripped at Glenn’s back as he kneaded the flesh, like a kitten drinking from its mother, and when Glenn stopped moving, he dropped him to the ground. The creature looked around, cocking its head to the side as he morphed into the dead body on the floor, before grabbing him by the legs and dragging him off to the darkness of the basement.

 

Beth’s eyes opened instantly, she could still see the man’s face as the monster ripped out his throat. She didn’t recognize the home, or the man but she knew that something, somewhere was going on and whatever that monster was, they needed to stop it.

  
  



	12. The Family Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something strange going on in Sioux Falls and Jody needs to get to the bottom of it, but the issue is finding the right men for the job, or finding out just where they disappeared to. What she didn't expect was the confusing triangle of a relationship that they had gotten themselves involved in with Beth, or the "it's complicated" answer she got for every question.

The “Family” Business

SPNFanfic #12

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Jody and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

Seven hours earlier:

 

Jody looked at Alex and Claire, then over at Donna as she slipped out of the car at the airport.  

“I don’t know why they aren’t answering any phones even cells, but I do know they’re in New York.  It won’t take me long to get there, but listen, if they show up again, just do what I told you to do.”  The three women nodded at their instructions and watched as Jody closed the door. “There is no way the Winchesters just disappear of the face of the Earth. I’ll find them and I’m sure they’ll be more than willing to help.”

She smiled as they pulled out of the curb and she grabbed her bag, hoping to still catch the flight her friend had promised her to the private air strip outside a small town in northern New York.  She prayed that they would be able to help, and her desperation should be evident since she was flying in and not waiting for them to bring themselves to her.

 

New York:

 

It couldn’t have been more than eight a.m. and the pounding on the door stirred Sam from the comfortable recliner he had taken over. Dean glanced up from the television as he lay on the couch, one arm behind his head the other wrapped around Beth, who was currently using him as a full body pillow.  Sam glance at his brother as he moved towards the door of the house, peeking outside at the rental car that was parked just behind the Impala and Mustang that took up most of the now gravel drive.

The shadow behind the privacy glass didn’t give him any specifics but he knew whoever it was had to be human, there wasn’t much else getting on the property at that moment.  Becca had set up so many wards that it was nearly impenetrable. He opened the door slight and then stepped back in shock as he watched Sheriff Jody Mills step over the threshold.  She hugged him, smiling and looked around for Dean who grinned and waved from the couch.

“Good morning, boys,” Jody was surprised to see the home they were living in.

“Jody, it’s great to see you.” Sam smiled, hugging her again.  “Ah,” still new with this surroundings, he had to locate the table before gesturing to it, “come on in, do you want some coffee?”

“Coffee would be great, I just took a red-eye in to find you.”  She sat down and then noticed the small feet that stuck out of the blanket Dean was half under.  “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Sam laughed as he handed her a cup, and a small container of creamer and sugar, “that’s Beth Peterson, she’s a hunter.”

“Wait, Elizabeth Peterson, Paul’s daughter?”  Jody questioned and Dean turned the best he could on the couch.

“Yeah, why?”  Dean said protectively.

“Nothing, we’ve just had a few run-ins when Bobby was around,” but, the confusion didn’t leave her expression and she turned to Sam.  “Rumor has it, you two are in a complicated mess with her.”

“It’s not complicated,” Sam smiled, and lifted a mug to offer Dean some but the other man shook his head and went back to the TV.  “He’d get up but she hadn’t slept in days so we agreed not to wake her.”

“I’m a bit confused,” Jody whispered.

The two of them watched as Beth suddenly sat up straight and looked down at Dean. Her eyes filled with anger, but she kissed him on the forehead and pretty much fell off the couch, wrapping the blanket around her as she headed towards the back bathroom.  Dean stood and stretched, then made it over to the table, still in his pajamas. 

He winked at his brother and grabbed Sam’s cup, “now I’ll take that.”

“Dean, seriously, get your own,” Sam grumbled and watched as his brother took a sip, gave it a strange look and handed it back.

“Eck!  Too much sugar,” Dean stated in disgust and went to go make his own.

“Okay, would you please tell me what’s going on here?”  Jody couldn’t even smile in the confusion but Sam waited for Dean to sit.

“We’re all kind of…” Sam started.

“Connected,” Dean answered, preparing the coffee the way he liked.  “Beth and Sam are together, and Beth and I are…” he glanced at Sam with a questioning look, “we never really put a name to it.”

“Basically…” Sam stumbled over his words.

“Are the three of you sleeping together?”

“No!” Sam snapped.

“No, no!” Dean replied shaking his head.  “Sam and Beth are.”

“So how are you in this relationship?” 

Dean opened his mouth, ready to give her some of the details but he shut it just as quickly and shook his head.  “It’s complicated.”

“Jody, what brought you all the way to New York?”  Sam asked. “Not that we don’t love you being here but the girls aren’t with you, so it’s not to visit.”

“We have something going on back in Sioux Falls that I really need your help with, but I haven’t been able to get ahold of you.” 

Sam glanced at Dean, there wasn’t going to be an easy way to explain this, but at the same time, that was when Beth finally walked out, presentable and sat down after grabbing some coffee.  She looked at the other woman at the table, contemplating for a second before she spoke and placed the cup softly down.

“Mills,” she greeted, and the boys watched with worry.

“Peterson,” Jody answered with the same tone but they were up on their feet embracing before Sam and Dean knew what to do.  “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah, it has, and as you can see, I’m still getting involved with the riffraff.” Beth smiled and winked at both of them.  “The fact that they were off the grid was my fault, we’ve been dealing with some insane stuff the last few months.”

“It’s fine as long as you are all okay,” Jody sighed.  

“So you said you needed help,” Sam inquired and watched as Beth went back to the coffee.  Dean leaned over and smiled at Beth.

“What was it?”  He whispered.

“Minotaurs,” she smiled, “nasty half-cow things.”

Sam cleared his throat and the two of them separated, looking as if they had just been scolded by their parent.  Beth smiled down at her coffee cup as Dean looked at Jody.

“Sorry,” Dean apologized, which got some small sound from Beth and he kicked her under the table.

“Vampires, but not the kind we’re used to,” Jody spoke up, trying to ignore the childish behavior from the two of them.  “Donna and I thought we had it under control, but the nest must be larger than we thought, and we could really use the help.”

Beth groaned, “vampires.”

“What’s wrong,” Sam asked.  Jody noticed the worry that flashed across both the boys faces.

“Nothing, right now I’m just full-on Vamp bait,” Beth replied.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”  Sam looked at Jody, “I guess Beth can man the command room.”

“You never back out of a hunt,” Dean questioned, “what’s up with you?”

“Ask me in a week,” Beth gave him subtle hints but Dean wasn’t getting it, and even though he dropped it, the worry didn’t leave his eyes, but Beth turned to Jody.  “You said they weren’t like the others you’ve dealt with, what’s the difference?”

 “There’s no reports of break-ins, people are apparently just letting these things in their houses, their cars and after a few days their bodies pop up in public places.”

“Doesn’t sound like vamps.”  Dean added.

“It does when the body is completely drained of blood with the same wound on the neck,” Jody took out her cell, turned on the gallery and slid it over to Dean who had Beth peering over his shoulder.  They were close-ups on the bodies, the wound marks and how they were found. “No blood, and with marks like those, usually indicate vampires.”

“Wait,” Beth whispered, which stopped Dean from scrolling, “go back two.”

“What do you see?”  Sam questioned as he also leaned over and tried to get in on view it.  Beth knew there was no way they were all going to see what she was looking at and she turned to Jody.

“Do you mind?”  She asked, pointing at the phone, all Jody did was shake her head.  Beth grabbed the phone and walked into the living room.

“Hey!  I was looking at that!”  Dean grumbled, which made Beth turn and stick her tongue out.  As the three of them made their way to the living room, following Beth’s lead, Jody turned to Sam.

“Are they always like that?”  She questioned, expecting some sort of grimace of disapproval from Sam but what she got was a grin.

“It’s gets worse as the day goes on,” he laughed.

“And whose girlfriend is she?”  Jody watched as Sam just gave a small shrug, rubbing his neck as he was about to answer. “I know, it’s complicated.”

“Right,” he replied, raising an eyebrow as Beth hooked the phone to the USB port in the TV.  With the image blown up onto the forty inch screen, Sam crossed his arms as he looked over the scene around the body. “Huh.”

“I know,” Beth shook her head, “definitely something not vampy going on here.”

“Okay, geniuses, wanna fill the rest of us in?” Dean barked from the couch.  Beth smiled down at him, about to say something smart but turned to the screen.

“Dead vic,” she pointed out at the bottom of the screen, before standing up straight and zooming into the person in the back of the crowd.  This made Dean sit forward as the man she brought to the forefront was an exact image of the one on the ground. “Not so dead vic.” 

“Doppelgänger?” Jody questioned.

“No, definitely a vamp,” Beth answered, pointing at his eye as the sun reflected the redness off the camera lens, “just not like one we’ve ever seen.”

“So, new vampires?” Dean questioned and scanned each one of the faces in the room.  “Okay, so do they sparkle?” Beth grabbed the closest pillow and threw it at his head, which Dean ducked from and laughed at her. “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to get back to basics, this would be a perfect chance. Vamps, come on how long has it been since we took on these guys?”

“Dean has a point,” Sam answered.

“Road trip?” Beth pondered for a moment before she nodded.  “I’d love to see Sioux Falls again.”

“Go pack,” Dean ordered and Beth turned to him, “what?  You’re always the one that takes the longest.”

“Bite me, Dean!”  She said and the smile faded from her face as Dean jumped up and came after her.  He could care less if the other woman didn’t understand the relationship between them, he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his mouth down to her neck as Beth pushed him away.  Dean gave her a full-bellied laugh as he released her and walked back to the couch. Beth looked up at Sam with a disgusted look on his face. “He freaking drooled on me!”

Jody watched as Sam did nothing give a smile.  She was going to have to get him to explain what the hell was going on, because this certainly wasn’t the kind of relationship she ever picture the boys in.  Sam’s smile widened as Beth stepped up to him and grabbed him by the shirt.

“Can you pack some of mine too?” Sam asked quietly, his voice full of love for the blue-eyed woman.

“Sure, I’ll just grab whatever I want and toss it in a bag for you,” she teased as he leaned down and kissed her softly, then glanced at Jody.  “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a quick shower,” she glanced at Dean, “I feel violated.”

“You loved it, Peterson!”  Dean hollered after her as she walked down the hall and Dean wore a big grin even as Beth flipped him off.

Jody cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Clearly, I’m missing the dynamics of your family relationship here.”

Sam glanced down the hall, hearing the shower in their en suite bathroom spray on, and he gestured to the seat beside him.  Jody took it, ready for anything that Sam threw at her, but as the man explained what had gone on over the course of finding Beth, she clearly wasn’t prepared for the explanation she got.

“So you’re in love with her,” she said to Sam, who nodded and then she looked at Dean, “and you’re in love with her,” Dean nodded, “and she loves you both but can only be with Sam?”

“Them’s the rules.”  Dean mumbled, as if he weren’t too happy with them.

“You two have gotten into some downright strange situations but this one has to be the weirdest one I’ve ever seen.”  Jody shook her head.

“We’re happy with it,” Sam spoke up.

“You’re happy with your brother being involved with your girlfriend?”

“Oh, we’re not involved,” Dean laughed and sat up.

“Clearly,” Jody said mockingly which only got a strange look from Dean, “from that little display of affection I just saw, all three of you are involved.”

“I meant we’re not involved sexually.”  Dean clarified.

“Dean, how do you feel when your brother and Beth are having their own moments?” 

Dean looked down, a smile spread across his face as he licked his lips.  Sam had left that part out, the part where he could feel anything of that nature, and he also left out how much he enjoyed it.  Not feeling Sam and Beth, but the rush from the emotions, because he never really was party to what was going on behind closed doors, just the onslaught of everything.  He also didn’t tell her that he was on the receiving end of the nasty part of Beth’s rage as well and while Sam could keep her calm most of the time, it was Dean who stepped in to control the outbursts even she couldn’t keep at bay.

Sam watched his brother, who didn’t answer, and he knew what Dean was thinking.  Sam was the one that kept them both in check, a wall between them and the constant push and pull of everything in their lives.  Dean never realized that it was Sam that was the shield between his thoughts and Beth’s, especially when things became heated between them, and they did.  He was the calming voice, the level head that kept one, or both from exploding. Sam was the rational thoughts in the world of chaos that Beth’s mind held, but Sam smiled at his brother.

“I’m fine with it,” Dean finally spoke up, lifting his head to look at the woman.  “I know where I stand with Beth and believe me, I’m good with it, besides I have no shortage of prospects of my own.”

“So what?  You just sneak of and get what you need?” Jody asked confused, but like a mother, something he already had.

He was not happy with this line of questioning and he stood up, “I need to go pack.”

Sam rubbed his forehead as Dean walked down the hallway towards his room and quietly closed the door behind him.  Jody looked at Sam and watched as he raised his brows, and opened his hands as if to ask her exactly what was she expecting.

“You know he has a hard time with emotions,” Sam said, defending him.

“I’m not trying to make him question how he feels for Beth, but really, this relationship can’t be healthy.”  Jody sighed. Sam nodded, that was her own opinion and the first negative one that they had come in contact with so neither man knew how to deal with it.  “I’m just concerned for you boys.”

“We’re happy, Jody, all of us, and nothing is going to change it.”  Sam listened to the shower shut off and stood. “Give me a few minutes, I’m going to help Beth with my bags.”

“Okay,” she nodded and watched him move down the hallway.  

After taking her time and waiting as patiently as she could, she made her way down towards the back bedrooms, and stood just outside the partially opened door where she could see Sam and Beth in the mirror.  She sat on the dresser and Sam stood between her legs, his hands on the thighs of the jeans she now wore. She held onto the flannel shirt he wore as she looked lovingly into his eyes, a smile on her face that sparkled in her eyes.

Jody didn’t know what they were talking about, their voices were too low, but she thought that maybe Sam was doing all the talking because Beth’s lips never moved, her expressions changed but she never mumbled a word.  This wasn’t the first weird thing she had seen between them, and it wouldn’t be the last, especially since Dean made a small noise behind her, causing her to turn in his direction.

Jody was a bit embarrassed to be caught looking but Dean just moved beside her and looked at the scene in the mirror, he raised his brows and pressed his lips together in a knowing smile.  Jody glanced at the affection in Dean’s eyes for his brother and the girl in the room.

“See that?” Dean whispered, close to her ear.  “Have you ever seen him so happy?” Jody had to admit that those moments of joy in Sam’s eyes were few and far between.  “That is why I’m fine with all of this, there’s nothing like seeing your baby brother in love and that love returned, not only to him but to you too.”

Dean picked up his bag and moved down the hallway.  Jody watched as Sam leaned forward getting a sweet kiss from Beth before she wrapped her arms around his shoulder and she could almost see the grin on Sam’s face.  With a sigh, she walked into the living room with Dean, who had opened the closet door.

“Wanna see the best part about this place?”  He questioned, and Jody nodded because she needed some sort of distraction.  She followed him in as he pushed on the back of the closest wall in a certain order and the panel popped open.  He flicked a switch on the wall and started down a staircase into the basement that Jody would have never known was there.

As her feet hit the floor, she was amazed by the sight that was in front of her.  

Dean made his way to the weapons cabinets. The bunker was rearranged, and it was set up more like the Beth’s grandfather with the computers and shelves of information.  Jody glanced around as she made her way into the center of it and watched as Dean packed several duffle bags with guns, ammo, knives, Holy Water, crucifixes and other essentials for fighting off vampires and then her turned to her.

“What the hell is this place?”  Jody questioned.

“Beth’s safe house, at least it was until it became our safe house.”  Dean smiled and picked up a rather large knife, eyed it over and stuffed it in the bag.  He gestured to the stairway and the two of them made it topside just as Sam and Beth were dropping their bags on the kitchen counter.  “We ready?”

“Cas and Becca are going to come over and “keep an eye on the place”,” Beth rolled her eyes.  “Hopefully eyes are the only thing on any of this furniture!”

Sam kissed her on the head as he tried to control the laughter that escaped his lips.  Jody did enjoy seeing the man smile, but the genuine laughter from him caused her heart to skip a beat.  Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing, odd but not bad.

Locking up the house, Beth stopped and talked to her car as Dean shook his head, opening the trunk of the Impala.  He placed the bags gently down in the space before closing the hood and he walked over to stand behind Beth, wrapping his arms around her as he placed his chin on her head and sighed.

“It’s not like it’s forever.” He reassured her and felt Beth lean her head back against him.

Jody opened the passenger’s door to the Impala and looked at the scene by the Mustang. Sam walked up beside her and placed his arms on the roof of the black car, glancing over at his brother and Beth.  He watched as Beth’s hands moved up to touch Dean’s and she held them tightly.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this.” Jody sighed. “This whole “his, mine and ours” thing is a little creepy.”

“Seems to be working out so far.”  Sam smiled as Dean let her go, stepping away as his hand continued to brush her back until he was out of reach and he stepped up beside the driver’s door.  “You get first, I got second.”

“Shifts, Sammy?”  Dean grinned as Beth moped her way to the back door of the car and climbed in.  

“It’s a twenty hour drive, Dean,” he shrugged and glanced down at the car, “and you know who will sleep most of it.”

“Good point,” Dean sighed and slipped in. “There is no way I’m riding bitch in my own car, you know that right?”  He turned in the seat to stare at Sam as he and Jody climbed in. Sam nodded. “Good, so when it’s your shift, I call shotgun, but don’t even think of touching the radio.”

“Can you be any more like a girl?” Beth piped up from the backseat and Dean reached down behind him to grab her leg, making her kick the seat.

“Hey, watch the interior.”  Dean scolded.

“Can we just go?”  

“Yeah, yeah, hold your horses.”  Dean started up the car and let it purr for just a minute before slowly making his way out of the drive and heading south onto the asphalt.  

It wasn’t long before Beth was in her usual position, lying across the backseat, but this time she had her head on Sam’s lap, her nose against the folds of his shirt as he looked out the window.  He sat with his hand on her waist, and he could feel her fingers bunching up some of the loose fabric of the flannel he wore. Her earbuds were in place and she just let the movement of the car rock her into a dreamscape.  

Jody looked back and actually gave Dean a smile as he caught her checking on the younger woman.  “Does she always sleep like that?”

“No matter the distance, she’s always lying down, unless of course she’s driving and then she’s giving you a coronary.”  Dean replied, the last part of his sentence seemed to have a bit of a scolding tone to it but he looked up at Jody. “She doesn’t do much regular sleeping.  We usually find her up and wondering around most nights.”

“Nightmares?” Jody questioned and watched him for a moment before he nodded.

“You could say that,” he shrugged, and glanced back at her, “more like really bad memories.”

“She’s definitely had some trauma in her life.” Dean gave her a quick peek before turning back to the road.  

“You said you had a few run-ins with her at Bobby’s?  When was she at Bobby’s?” Dean asked and watched as she shrugged.

“She would pop in now and again, mainly when you boys were scattered to the wind,” Jody shifted in her seat to look at him.  “You three have a pretty long history, why would she try to avoid you?”

“Just like everything else, it’s complicated,” Dean replied glancing up in the rear view at Sam and Beth.  “She said she was protecting us, which knowing Beth like I do, I believe her. What happened when she “popped in”?”

“Usually trouble,” Jody smiled, “it took me long enough to figure out that she was another one of his wayward children, like you guys, floating in an out of his house.  She didn’t stay as long though. I would hear that Mustang roll through town and not far behind it was a bar fight or some other kind of public display of violence. She was at the center of it, and of course I was late to realize after a few times of arresting her that she was the one stopping them, not starting it.”

“Stopping bar fights?”  Dean smiled.

“Yeah I didn’t understand it for a while, but the second time I had her in the cell, she sat quietly, never said a word, bleeding from her nose or her lip and Bobby came through the door like a father, swearing and furious that he was going to ‘wring that little girl’s neck” until he saw her.” Jody smiled at the memory. “I opened that cell up, expecting him to keep on going with the profanities that were coming out of his mouth and he just stopped dead and opened his arms up.  She ran to him and he could have cared less if there was blood all over his shirt, he just held her until he stopped shaking.”

“Wow,” Dean said softly, “Bobby was all heart when it came to us, but I didn’t know he knew her so well.”

“He said she reminded him of Paul, but more so of you.  No care in the world when it came to a hunt, but what she needed was family when it was done.”  Jody watched as Dean’s smile faded a bit as he concentrated on the road, his eyes glancing up several times in the mirror before he shifted his body and rolled his shoulders as he gripped the wheel.  “I’m glad she found you.”

“Me too,” he spoke softly, “me too.”

 

Seven hours into the drive, somewhere close to Norwalk, Ohio, Dean happen to check on the backseat passengers.  He and Jody had conversations that spanned from memories to how the girls were doing in school. However, he noticed she had started to avoid the subject of his relationship with Beth, which was good because it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. The scene in the rear view would have ended it as Sam stared out the window, but his hand had slipped under the bottom of Beth’s shirt, exposing the tribal tattoo.

He hadn’t had much luck initiating the telepathic link between the two of them but for some reason, the way Sam’s thumb moved back and forth, caressing her bare skin, gave him just the right amount of push he needed.

_ “What are you doing?” _ He inquired, his tone a little more rough than he had expected, but Sam quickly snapped his head in Dean’s direction, staring at him through the mirror as Dean glanced at the bare back of the sleeping girl.

_ “Keeping her calm.” _ Sam replied, his own response was cool and collected as if he were linked to Beth also.

_ “By copping a feel?” _  Sam could tell that Dean didn’t quite understand so he moved his hand from her skin and Dean suddenly felt a gut-punch of rage flood him and his grip on the wheel slipped.

“Are you okay?”  Jody asked as Sam quickly put his hand back against her, letting Dean catch his breath.  

“Yeah,” he replied breathless and sat back in the seat.  “Coffee is kicking in, might be time for a bathroom break.”  He made sure traffic was good on the road and continued to cruise at the speed he was going but as Jody brought up more conversation, Dean’s eyes kept flickering up to the man in the back seat.  _ “What the hell was that?” _

_ “It’s what she goes through every night,”  _ Sam whispered and looked down at Beth,  _ “my touch seems to keep it at ease but it has to be skin on skin, so when we sleep, it’s pretty close.” _

_ “So I’m dreams, and you’re emotions?” _ Sam nodded and watched as Dean’s lips tightened in to a thin, frustrated line.   _ “What about the other night?” _

_ “Did she dream?” _

_ “I don’t know what she did, it was like she was blocked.” _

_ “Maybe between the two of us, we keep the emotions and the dreams away.”  _  Dean shrugged but then caught the tail end of what Jody was saying.

“That’s it, just a shrug?” She looked at him with confusion.  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, there’s just a lot going on.” Dean gave her a BS grin and shook his head, watching Sam grab the blanket off the floor to cover Beth up and block the evidence of his hand. “Thank God, a gas station.”

His change in subject had the sheriff a bit more than confused, she was more concerned with what was going on and when he pulled up to the pump and hopped out, she turned in her seat to look at Sam who was running his fingers through Beth’s dark hair.

“Does she always sleep this much?”  Sam, who was just as content looking out the window, lost in his own thoughts, raised his eyebrows and looked at Jody, knowing she had already asked Dean, before glancing down at the girl in his lap.

“She does when she’s in the car,” he smiled, “I guess it calms her to be on the road, but she’s had a rough week with sleeping.”

“Is that why she way laying on Dean when I walked in?”  Sam could feel the questioning look from the woman in the front seat and he sighed.

“Dean is her best friend, so am I, and if she finds comfort in his arms like she did this morning, I’m not going to stop her from doing something innocent like lying on the couch with him.  She comes to our bed every night. I never worry about it.” Sam said, his voice defensive and watched as she raised an eyebrow. “Look, I’m sorry I snapped but you don’t get what we’ve all been through, or what Beth is to the two of us, not everyone will, and that’s fine with me, but I’m not going to explain our relationship at every turn.”

“I’m not asking you too,” Jody whispered, unsure of why he was getting so agitated and suddenly Dean knocked on the back windshield making Sam look up.  The older brother gave him a nasty look and Sam took a deep breath before placing his hand softly on Beth’s. “I can see that she’s very important to the both of you.”

Sam nodded and turned back to staring out the window, as Dean opened the back door beside his brother.  “Your shift.”

“Really?” Sam said sarcastically.  “I thought you didn’t “ride bitch” in your own car?”

“I think it’s necessary, don’t you?”  

Sam sighed as he looked down and gently shook Beth awake.  She looked around, released his shirt and sat up slowly. “Dean’s sitting with you.”  Beth nodded, glanced at her surroundings and felt the shiver as Sam’s touched left her body.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she blinked furiously, “where are we?”

“Norwalk, Ohio.”  Dean replied as Sam kissed her forehead, slipped out of the car and Dean grinned, slipping into his spot. Beth sat up and looked around with an annoyed look on her face.  “What?”

“I worked a case here once,” she scowled, “turned out to be some moron in a Michael Myers mask.”

“People are crazy,” Dean shook his head.

“I couldn’t agree more,” she grumbled as Sam slid into the driver’s seat and started up the car.  She watched the look between him and Jody and nudged Dean, giving a slight gesture with her head to the two in front, Dean just rolled his eyes. “Okay, Babyface, let’s get moving.”

“Beth!” Sam moaned, which got a giggle from her and a grin from Dean.

“I could do a Cas and call you an “assbutt”, which would you prefer?” She laughed.

“I kind of liked it better when you were sleeping,” he smiled back looking at her in the mirror.  Beth squinted her eyes as if she were mad but blew him a kiss as Sam put the car in gear and moved away from the pump, heading back out onto the road.

Beth looked at Dean and he shivered as her thoughts tickled his mind.   _ “What did I miss?” _

Dean turned in the seat, put his arm up on the back of the seat and shrugged,  _ “Jody grilled him about the relationship between you and I and why he’s so comfortable with it.” _

_ “I think we’re just too used to those around us accepting it, he shouldn’t let it get to him.” _ Beth put her feet up across Dean’s lap as she settled down against the rolled up blanket near the door and watched as he slipped his hand up under the end of her pant leg.   _ “So, now tell me what the hell happened when Sam took his hand off me.” _

_ “Your rage pretty much socked me in the gut.” _ Dean raised his eyebrows.   _ “Why didn’t you tell me it was that bad?” _

_ “I didn’t know until he let me go.” _ She reached her hands up and tucked them behind her head.   _ “I didn’t realize just how much he keeps me in check with that stuff.” _

_ “Me either.” _ Dean glanced at Sam who was in the middle of a conversation with Jody as they drove along, but she noticed the woman’s eyes on the two of them.  _ “She’s watching us, isn’t she?”  _

_ “Watching us exchange looks, that’s all.” _ Beth took the earbuds from the seat and put them in her ears, giving him a distraction as he turned back in the seat and watched out the window.

“You’ve got next shift.”  Dean said out loud as he tugged the buds from her ear.  Beth sighed but nodded and put them back in.

 

It was well into the night before Beth took over. Dean moved back up front to sit in the passenger’s seat and Sam situated himself behind her, stretching his legs out so that all she had to do was reach behind her seat to touch him.  It was the quietest the car had been the whole trip, everyone was asleep as her mind focused on the road in front of her and she placed one bud in her ear to listen to the music from her phone so that the others could sleep in peace.

She drove straight through until the sun rose behind her and they entered Sioux Falls.  She tapped Dean with her fingers and then rubbed them on his upper arm, the light sensation roused him from sleep and he sat up to look at where they were.  He reached behind the seat and slapped Sam on the lap, making him sit up quickly, and he, in turn, gave Jody a little shake.

“I need coffee before I fall asleep,” Beth whispered, glancing around the car before her eyes settled on Jody. “Do we have enough time before we make it to your place? Want me to find a gas station?”

“Whichever works for you,” Jody shrugged.  “We’re not too far away, and I could see if Donna could get some breakfast ready.  What time is it?” 

Sam turned and looked at the sun, “about 5:30.”

“She should be awake,” Jody dialed up the house on the cellphone and listened as Donna answered.  “Hey,” she said and watched as Beth pulled up to a light, looking west down the road, she saw the sadness fill her eyes, “yeah, we’re almost there.  Think you could put on a pot of coffee and see what we have for breakfast, these guys are hungry.” She paused, “yep, see you soon.”

Jody hung up the phone and watched as the light turned green but Beth didn’t move.  Dean sighed, and tapped her on the leg before she tore her eyes away from the direction they were facing and stepped on the gas, sniffling as she pulled away from the light. He reached out and took her hand in his as Sam put a gentle hand on her shoulder.  That was the way to Bobby’s house, at least the way she always went to get there and she took a deep breath, keeping her emotions in check as she focused on the road, giving Dean’s fingers a squeeze as she released him.

 

Beth looked up at the house as she pulled up into the driveway, put it in park and cut the engine.  When Dean got out he stretched as much as he could before he looked over at the woman who was sliding out from behind the wheel.

“Remind me to sit in back the next time I let you drive,” he grinned at her, “my legs need more room than five inches.”

“Shut up!” She replied, rolling her eyes at him as she tossed him the keys.  Sam also stretched and let his hands fall on Beth’s shoulders before he wrapped one arm around her.  She glanced up at him and he leaned down kissing her on the top of the head.

Jody passed by, gesturing for them to follow and all three made their way into the house.  The perky blonde woman in the kitchen greeted Sam and Dean with hugs and turned to Beth, who she looked over for a second before putting her hands on her hips.  Sam could see the nervousness in Beth’s eyes.

“You must be Elizabeth,” Donna smiled, “I’ve heard so much about you.”  She hugged Beth, who gave Sam a strange look before hugging the woman back.  

“Not all bad, I hope.” Beth replied, unsure of what to say.

“Coffee’s ready and there are some eggs and pancakes in the oven keeping warm for you.  I know it’s been a long trip so sit and we’ll have something to eat.” Donna replied, ignoring the statement.  Sam took Beth’s hand and they all sat down at the table. Dean dug into the plate of food that Donna set before him, Sam took his time with his, and Beth only accepted the cup of coffee that was offered.

“So the girls are still asleep?”  Dean questioned as he finished the pancake he was working on.  He watched as Sam pushed a small plate of eggs in front of Beth and she gently pushed it back, giving him a dirty but playful look.

“It is pretty early, and a Saturday,” Jody replied and watched the interaction between Sam and Beth as Sam returned the dirty look and she slapped him on the knee.  

“We’ve seen the pictures,” Beth spoke up as she pinched Sam gently on the arm and he took her fingers, “but what makes these vamps harder for you to handle?”

“We can’t seem to narrow the nest down to one location.”  Donna added as she sat next to Beth and glanced at Sam’s hand, gently stroking the back of Beth’s as he continued to eat.  “Every time we think we know where they are, we come up with nothing.”

“They’re moving their nest?”  Dean questioned and gave Sam a glance, “not a normal vamp thing, usually they settle and take what they need before hauling ass.  These ones are constantly moving but still hanging around?”

“I’m still stuck on the doppelganger,” Beth added, shaking her head, “a vampire shifter?”

“Wait, doppelganger?”  Donna questioned and watched as Jody took out her phone and zeroed in on the picture.  “Well, would you look at that?”

“Beth spotted it when I was giving them the details, she has a great eye.”  Jody praised but it seemed to go right over Beth’s head that she was being talked too, something was distracting her as her eyes settled on the cabinets in the living room.  

“May I?”  Beth inquired, being as polite as possible, but when she stood and slipped from Sam’s hold, he looked up from his breakfast to follow her with his eyes.  Beth stood by the cabinet and raised her hand, her face filled with confusion.

“What is it?”  Dean asked, and Donna noticed how both men had their sights locked on her.  Beth shook her head, but the fact that her hand was just inches from the glass cabinet had them all curious. 

“Did you get something in there just recently?”  She turned and glanced at Jody, “something from an estate sale or antique shop?”

“Actually, yes, why?”  Jody was now just as curious and she watched as Beth continued to stare until she crouched down and popped the glass open. 

Beth reached in, pulling out an old leather bag and by the reaction that Jody and Donna gave, Sam was pretty sure that wasn’t what she meant. Beth palmed the bag as she moved over to the table with it and sat down with it.  Gently she placed it on the table and Sam gently placed a hand on her leg, feeling her shaking.

“It’s Greek,” Beth said, softly, swallowing the anxiety that filled her, and she took the small leather strings between her fingers, untying the knot.

“It looks like a bag to me.”  Donna spoke up but Beth gave her a sarcastic look and dumped the bag of coins on her empty plate.  Donna whistled.

“Are they real?”  Jody questioned.

“Really old,” Beth answered and touched one with the top of her fingers, “and really powerful.”  She glanced up at the annoyed face of Jody. “I’m guessing you knew nothing about this?”

Jody shook her head, “what are they?”

“They’re called obols,” Dean spoke up, “we’ve run into them before.”

“Greek mythology says they were placed in the mouth of the dead to help them in passing over to the other side.”  Sam added.

“Tolls for the boatman.”  Beth finished and Jody ran a hand through her hair.  “The thing is these are the real deal and I’m going to guess they might be what brought your vampires into town.”

“How can coins attract vampires?” Donna was very confused at this point. 

“Do you have a computer?”  Sam questioned and Jody quickly went to grab Alex’s laptop, handing it to him when she came back.  Dean walked over and stood behind Beth as she stared at the coins. He quickly put them all back in the bag and slipped it in his pocket before placing both hands on Beth’s shoulder.  

“Do you have a box?”  Dean questioned, as Jody shook her head, “Anything, something made of iron or Silver.”

“We only have wooden jewelry boxes.”  Jody shrugged. 

Dean looked frantic as he tried to think of something to help calm the shivering in the woman in front of him.  Something about the coins was setting her off and he had to think of something quick. He pulled out the Colt and unclipped the magazine, removed three of the olive bullets and popped the mag back in before tucking it away. As quickly as possible, he slipped the bullets into the bag of coins and put it away, watching as Beth was able to take a deep breath.

“They not vampires,” Sam spoke up and looked at those around him, “at least not in the traditional sense.  They’re Vrykolakas.”

“Vry…what?”  Jody questioned.

“Ah, a Greek mythology version of a vampire,” Sam shrugged, “they have the ability to shift into anyone that the prey happens to be thinking of, it helps them gain entrance to the dwelling and they can take over the appearance of those they kill. They basically need to be invited in and if you open the door for them, you become dinner, there’s no two ways about it.”  

Beth stood from the table and looked up at Dean as he took her hand in his, getting a strange look from Donna, and she glanced at the people in the room.  

_ “I just need a minute.” _ Her thoughts vibrated in his mind.  

Dean touched Sam’s shoulder and the younger one looked up as Dean gestured towards the door.  Sam nodded and both Beth and Dean headed outside. 

 

She leaned against the Impala as Dean grabbed a beer out of the green cooler in the trunk and popped the top.

“You do realize it’s like six in the morning, right?”  She questioned and watched as he came to stand beside her, leaning against the car grinning,

“You do realize that I’ve been up except for those few hours of sleep in the car, right?”  He looked down at her as she nodded in agreement. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Besides feeling ever negative vibration in that house, the questioning looks from your old friends and that overwhelming urge to throw up when I touched those coins, not much.”  Beth crossed her arms and sent her thoughts out to Sam, listened to him explain that the Vrykolakas were the type of creature that once you were bitten, if you didn’t die from them drinking you dry, you became one of them.  “Why do they have to be Greek vampires? Seriously, I thought we were going back to basics here?”

“It could just be coincidence.” Dean shrugged but he knew that was something few and far between.

“There’s no such thing as coincidence, Dean, you and I know that.”  Beth turned to him, looking up into those sparkling eyes and she squinted at him.  “How are we going to do this?”

“Do what?”  He questioned as she placed a hand on his cheek, grasping his shirt with the other.  Dean knew what she meant as he smiled wide and licked his lips. With one hand still holding the beer, he wrapped his free arm around her waist and leaned down, stopping inches from her lips.  “Is it because Sam isn’t out here to kiss you?”

“It’s because I need it,” she whispered, “I need you.”

“And Sammy?”  Dean’s warm breath caressed her and she smiled.

“Who do you think is encouraging this?”  She laughed and let his lips capture hers.  

She knew that Jody was watching out the window, which was why Sam was giving her little hints in her mind to do it.  Something about the line of questioning in the car had set him off and he just wanted to shock the woman a little more, it was also that Beth needed to be grounded, that the coins had set her on edge and she needed a release.

Dean could feel the energy flowing through her, not only from her kiss but from her touch and he found his way around the shirt she wore to place his hand on her bare back, hoping to help settle her, to take some of the energy off from her but the kiss became very heated and he found himself pulling her tightly towards him as he set the beer on the car roof.

Beth backed away and looked up into his eyes.  “We should probably stop before this gets anymore…”

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly as his chest rose and fell with his quick breaths, “good idea.”

She wanted to break away but the fingers on her back spread, just light enough to make her shiver before he released her and took one step back, grabbing his beer as he did. Beth watched as he downed what was in the bottle before he tipped it over and watched as nothing came out.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her hand still on his chest and Dean shook his head.

“Never,” he answered, placing his forehead against hers, not touching her in any other way, “ever apologize.”

 

Sam smiled as he watched the shock on Jody’s face.  Mission accomplished, he thought to himself as he went back to researching the creature.  Donna brought out all of the papers that she had and a map that Sam could work on as Dean and Beth walked back inside.  Dean could feel the heat rise in his face as Jody continued to stare, but Beth walked right passed her to Sam, placing her arms around his neck as she looked over his shoulder at the screen.

“Wait,” she whispered, and his fingers left the keyboard, instantly going to hers, “that’s it.”

“What?”  Dean questioned moving over to them.

“Most vrykolakas become so after a death due to a sacrilegious way of life, an excommunication or a burial in unconsecrated ground.” Beth whispered. 

“So what does that tell us?”  Dean questioned and watched as Beth moved away from Sam to the map that Donna had brought out.  She flipped through the different victims’ addresses and plotted out the reach of the deaths, drawing on the map.  “A five-mile radius.”

“A complete circle.”  Beth replied, which caught the attention of Jody, who had gotten over the shock of the scene outside and walked over to stand in front of the table.  Beth shook her head. “Are there any churches in the area?”

“Not within that area,” Jody shrugged, “what’s in the middle?”

Beth took a breath as she turned towards Sam and Dean, her finger right on the middle of the circle. “Singer Salvage.”

“Bobby’s?”  Dean questioned, moving her finger to check out the area that she had been covering. “Son of a bitch!”

“What does Bobby’s place have to do with Greek vampires?” Sam wondered, as his brow creased together in confusions.

“It’s unconsecrated ground for one,” Beth whispered and looked up at the two women in the room, “I’m sure a background check on the vics will tell us the rest of the story.”

“I’m on it.”  Jody nodded and grabbed the laptop from Sam.  She got into the database and searched the names before that look of acknowledgment crossed her face.  “Well, this just gets more interesting. Glenn Morgan was just released a year ago on a charge of stealing from the church.  Apparently, he was caught with his hand in the donation plate. He confessed that he had been taking money for at least a year, since his mother died.  Patricia Tracey had been excommunicated from her church in Nevada for stealing religious relics from the mausoleum while she served as church treasurer.  Timothy Alveeno was released on bond five years ago for stealing from the graves of people he helped bury when he was an employee of a local funeral home in Orlando, and Jared Roman was convicted before the age of eighteen for smashing out the windows of his church, those files were sealed when he moved to Sioux Falls.  In fact all of them moved here shortly after they were released.”

“So what do we do now?”  Donna questioned.

“There’s going to be another killing.”  Beth spoke up as she circled each address on the map.  

“How do you know?”  Jody questioned and watched as Beth grabbed the coins out of Dean’s pockets.

“Because you just don’t take sacred religious objects, especially Greek ones, and get away with it.”  She replied, putting them down on the table. 

“We don’t even know how those got in the house.”  Jody said defensively. 

Beth sighed and placed both hands on the table, touching the bag had set her on edge again and Sam’s hand rested on her back, two of his fingers managed to snake under her shirt to touch her skin but it didn’t help the feeling that flowed through her.

“You need to find out,” she spoke softly, trying to control her tone, “I’m not saying it was anyone in this house, but if it wasn’t, we need to know where they came from and fast.”

“Do you think one of the girls did it?”  Donna asked.

“We’re not saying that at all but it’s going to target whoever has them.”  Sam added, giving Beth a break from explaining, but his response made Beth stand up straight.

“You’re right,” she whispered and kissed him quickly, “and you’re a genius.”

“Wait, what?”  Dean questioned as they all watched Beth start to pace.

“We all know Bobby’s like the back of our hands,” she smiled, “Christ, he would drop me in the middle of it and tell me to find my way home as part of training.  Sam, Dean, I know you two were in the midst of that pile of cars searching for parts for Baby, so if it’s going to come for someone, wouldn’t it be better if it came for us.”

“You’re saying offer yourself as bait?”  Jody questioned with a hint of “you must be insane” in her voice.

“If we know the ins and outs, might as well use them to our advantage,” Beth shrugged, “it’s either that or wait for it to come for one of your girls.”

“Are you threatening my children?” Jody snapped, stepping closer to Beth but Dean placed himself between them.

“She’s just stating a fact, Jody, it would be better for us to get in the middle of this than to have it come to your house after Claire and Alex.”  Dean interjected and watched as the sheriff stared passed him at Beth’s stone cold eyes.

“Okay, so this is how this is going to go down,” Mills spoke up, looking at Sam and Dean.  “You take her and you head to the nearest motel, I’m sure you know where it is, and come dinner time, you can come back this way.  I think a twenty-hour car ride has us all on edge.”

“Fine by me,” Beth replied, grabbing the coins off the table.  She looked up at Donna and back at the map, “do you mind?” 

Donna shook her head and watched as the raven-haired woman rolled it up and walked out of the house.  Sam stood and was about to walk by when Jody grabbed his arm. 

“I don’t know what kind of game the two of you are playing with that girl, but she’s dangerous.”

“She’s not,” Dean stated, his tone low and defensive.

“From what I saw the two of you doing in my driveway and the way your brother looks at her, his heart’s in her hands, the only way this can end is badly.”  

“You don’t know her,” Dean growled. Sam listened to his brother and knew that if Dean kept going there were other things that were going to end badly and he grasped Dean by the arm.

“Leave it, and let’s go.”  Sam spoke just to Dean, who took a breath and headed for the door.  Sam stayed for only a second and glanced between the two of them. “We’ll be back about six.”

Jody nodded and watched as Sam walked out the door. She leaned against the table, crossing her arms as the Impala rolled out of the driveway.

 

Dean ran a hand through his hair, glancing at Beth in the rear view as she stared out the back window, and he turned to Sam.  

“I don’t get it,” he whispered, and watched his brother turn in his direction.  “What the hell just happened back there?”

Beth held up the bag of coins by the tip of her finger. “I think we need to worry more about how we’re going to pull this one off, instead of how the lady with the badge feels about us playing footsie under the table.”

Dean and Sam both glanced back at her and Sam snatched the bag out of her hand.  

“You’re not allowed to touch this anymore.” Sam lectured.

Beth rolled her eyes, but she knew the coins were taking their toll on her and she nodded in agreement.  

“Where would people get obols, I mean real obols, from anyway?”  Dean questioned as he pulled up to the motel, put the car in park and grabbed his wallet.  “Stay here, and play nice.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Beth replied and Dean gave her a dirty look as he got out of the car.  Sam turned in the seat and looked at her. “I really don’t like them, I can feel them playing with the rage strings.”

“We’ll get rid of them soon enough.”  Sam sighed and stashed them in the glove box. 

He did his best to climb over the seat so that he could sit with her, but just watching him try to get that over six foot frame into the back with her in the way  had her smiling. He did it and gathered her up in his arms as he lay down across the seat. Dean came out and glanced in the window before shaking his head.

“Remember, you dirty it, you clean it.”  He scolded as he got behind the wheel and moved the car into park in front of the room.

All three grabbed their bags from the back, their normal routine and made themselves comfortable in the room before Sam decided to pick up where he had left off in the car and pulled Beth down on the bed with him.  Dean grabbed the laptop and sat at the table, facing away from them as Sam pinned her down to the bed, propping himself up with his elbows as he stared into her eyes, his hair falling in his face.

“Do you really think this whole thing with the three of us is weird?” She whispered softly as he smiled.

“Do I care?” he laughed, his belly against hers as she rested her legs around his.  “If you’re happy, and he’s happy, Beth, then I’m happy.”

“Good, because I’m not giving either of you up.”  She grabbed the end of his shirt and ran her fingers up over his bare back.  Sam closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her fingers on his skin and he brought her shirt up, just a bit so that their stomachs touched, just a little bit of bare flesh, and his breathing increased.  “Your brother’s in the room.”

“It won’t go that far,” he said softly, his lips close enough so that she could feel the movement of his mouth as he said those words. Beth closed her eyes, loving the feel of him being so close to her.

“Promise me you’ll take back those words when this is done,” she mumbled against him.  Sam laughed, pressing his lips gently to hers.

“I promise,” his words were just breaths against her as he captured her mouth with his, kissing her with a fierceness that would have frightened the Minotaurs she battled in her dreams.  

As the passion trigger the fire between them, both tried to keep their thoughts to themselves, to keep their feelings in check for the other man in the room, but Dean was an open book when it came to Beth and  _ those _ feelings. Rage he could control but his own insatiable appetite for the opposite sex had him a little less in control where sex was concerned and neither seemed to notice as he quietly got up and walk out of the room, smiling to himself. 

Sam let his hands wander, his lips move from hers to her neck and down to follow the line of her shirt.  He seemed to forget his surroundings and let himself become fully emerged in just having Beth so close. He could feel her nails against his skin as she dug in when he nipped at her flesh, and he sucked in his breath to keep from making any noise, not that their kisses were quiet, but as he let go of his walls, he noticed the absence of the person in the room and he broke away for just a moment, which gave Beth the opportunity to explore his neck with her lips, trailing kisses along his jawline.  

Sam leaned into her, his eyes half closed and he saw only the empty chair where his brother had been sitting.

_ “Dean’s gone,” _ His thoughts whispered to her when his mouth couldn’t.

_ “He’s in the car,” _ she replied and bit down sharply on a sensitive spot, which made him inhale quickly, and clench her shirt in his hands. Sam backed away, pushing himself up with his arms and he hovered above her, smiling down with a wanting grin.

“If he’s out there,” Sam started and watched as she smiled back but shook her head.  

“He knows what’s going on, Sam,” she grinned, using his distance to run her fingers up and down his chest under his shirt, “he’ll certainly know if we start doing that.”

She had a point, and Sam growled leaning down to capture her lips again before rolling off to the side. Both of them stared, smiling and breathless, at the ceiling for what felt like forever before the door opened and Dean came in.  He placed the coffee cups down on the table and walked past the bed, glancing over at them before he stopped by the bathroom door. Sam propped himself up on one arm and Beth turned her head in his direction as Dean raised a finger and pivoted to look at them.

“Do you know how hard it is to get a coffee when I have the tension between the two of you running rampid in my head?” He questioned and looked down at his jeans.  “I spilled hot coffee on me twice,” Beth and Sam smiled as he gestured to his jeans, “TWICE!” and then he disappeared into the bathroom.

When Dean emerged from behind the closed door, Beth was sitting on the dresser looking over the map in her hand, a lollipop hanging from her mouth as Sam typed away on the computer.  It was a strange scene to see since they were just lying on the bed when he went in but he had also taken a shower and changed his jeans, trying the best he could to get the coffee stain out.

“So,” he said as he walked by and stole the lollipop from Beth.  She lashed out by kicking him in the ass with her foot as she picked up another from the stack beside her, unwrapped it and stuck it in her mouth.  “What do we got?”

“Well, we know how to kill them.”  Sam shrugged, which made Dean do a double take as he sat down.

“Wait, are the Olympians cutting us some slack?”  

“No,” Beth replied, “vampire lore is just that, it takes every kind of vamp and mixes them all together, you just have to know which kind you are looking for to know the right method of annihilation.”

“Don’t go getting all terminator on us yet, Al, we still have to find them,” Dean grinned, Sam looked up and turned the computer.  “What’s this?”

“Thermal imaging of Bobby’s place,” Sam smiled.

“What did you do, hack a satellite?” 

“Drone, actually, turns out there is a neighbor about a mile down the street that works on these things for the police force, kind of a bird’s eye view when they are trailing a suspect.”  Sam shrugged and turned the computer back as he typed in some commands. “The drone had thermal imaging on it, and last night recorded this in the center of Bobby’s old yard.”

“The place where he kept all the Ford parts?”  Dean questioned, looking at the images again. 

“Pretty much.” 

“Why there?”

“The parts garage,” Beth answered as she hoped down and walked over, sitting down on Sam’s right leg.  “If you look, there’s a small metal structure just south of that specific spot, it was where he housed all parts specific to the make and models that he didn’t have enough of, kind of like a just in case I come upon an 85’ Mustang deal.”

“You got your parts from him?” Dean watched as she smiled.  

“More than a few times, it was great to have your own parts shop and someone to help you put it together.”  Sam’s arm snaked around her waist, stopping her from getting up, “hey, what is this? An ambush.”

“How many times did you stop by Bobby’s?”  Dean whispered the question and watched as the smile faded from her face.

“Once a year, maybe, on my way home.”  She sighed and watched Dean lower his head.  “I didn’t know that he didn’t tell you, I know I didn’t want him too, but Dean, it wasn’t the…”

“I know, it wasn’t the right time.” Dean nodded and watched her lean back against Sam, “you were so close, so often and we just kept missing each other, so I have to believe that we weren’t meant to meet until we did. Sam wouldn’t have recovered his memories, and the three of us wouldn’t be here now if we had met sooner, that’s just how it goes.  You would have been caught in such a crap show of death and danger that you probably would have died, hell, I’m surprised we didn’t.” Dean reached out and took her hand. “I get why you hid, I do, and I’m happy, beyond happy, that you waited to contact us, I just needed to know.”

Dean stood and kissed her on the forehead before he walked over to the bed and sat down, untying his shoes.   Beth slipped away from Sam and sat down at the table across from him.

“Well, the good news is, chopping off their heads is still on the table.”  She smiled, looking into Sam’s worried eyes before she glanced over at Dean who flopped back on the bed.  

With a sigh she stood, Sam took her hand and pulled her down for a kiss before he let her go.  He knew where she was going and she heard the bed squeak as she curled up beside his brother, placing her head on his chest and her hand on his stomach. Dean hesitated a moment before he brought his arm down and wrapped it around her waist.

Sam smiled, shut down the computer and walked over to his own bed, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.  Not much else to do but wait, so they chose a movie, some old western and watched in silence.

Beth danced impatiently behind Sam and Dean as they waited for Jody to answer the door.  It was getting late, the sun was going down and the obols were locked in an iron box that Dean had fished out of the very back of the Impala’s trunk.

The door opened and Donna stepped aside letting the three of them in, but it was Beth’s eyes that she locked onto, as if to warn her about something, but all Beth did was grin and say hello.  There were two new arrivals in the room, one blonde-haired girl with dark eyeliner that brought out the familiar blue in her eyes, and another with black hair, the same gothic style to her. Beth liked them already.

“Claire,” Jody said addressing the blond, “Alex,” she spoke to the other, “this is Sam and Dean’s friend, Beth Peterson.”  

Beth’s hello wasn’t anything close to normal, “haven’t we met?”

Dean rolled his eyes, he knew nothing good could come out of Beth asking that question, especially to Claire.  The blond girl glanced up at the boys in the room and then back at Beth. She stepped closer to Beth, looking into her eyes and gave a small nod.

“Illinois,” Claire whispered and Jody stepped up to them.  Beth licked her lips, nodded, and stepped back, knowing the warning in Jody’s eyes.  “What are you doing here?”

“We need to know where the bag of coins came from,” Beth spoke softly, glancing up at Dean and Sam.  “It’s very important that we find out so that we can bring them back.”

“Josh did it,” Alex stepped forward, looking over at Claire as the rest of the adults in the room looked on in amazement that Beth could have them talking so fast.  “I know you too.”

“I know, we’ve met,” Beth smiled, “listen, girls, it doesn’t matter right now how you got them or why Josh gave them to you to hold onto but do you know where he found them?”

“He said some guy in an old beat up Chevelle drove by him one day and tossed them out the window,” Alex shrugged.  Dean turned to his brother, putting his back to Beth and gave a slight shake of his head. 

“Okay, so here’s what we have to do,” Beth glanced at both Jody and Donna before addressing them.  “If anyone knocks on your door tonight, and I don’t care if they are your favorite Masterchef, you don’t let anyone in.”

“What if they’re your mom?”  Claire asked, and right then Beth knew they were in trouble.  

“Claire, did your mother come to the door?”  Jody questioned. Claire looked up at her and shook her head.

“She was outside my window last night, she climbed up to the porch roof and knocked on my window.” Beth didn’t mean to put her hands on the girl but she had to know for certain exactly what happened as she turned Claire to face her.

“Did you let her in?”  Beth whispered.

“I…”

“Claire, this is serious, did you invite her in?”

“No,” the young blond shook her head.  “I know enough about monsters to never invite on into your house.”

“Good,” Beth smiled, “good girl, now tonight you might have that same issue.  Hold strong, keep steady and if it comes again, swing hard and fast.”

“Are you suggesting she cut off its head?”  Jody snapped. Beth glanced up that the sheriff and raised her eyebrows.

“I’m not suggesting anything, I’m telling her what to do because if she knows enough about hunting then she has a blade somewhere in that room.”  Beth winked at Claire and let her go. “Hard and fast,” she whispered to the girl before she glanced at the boys and walked out the door.

“What the hell!”  Jody said confused as she looked at Sam and Dean.  “You seriously need to have her checked in.”

“She’s right.”  Claire spoke up, and watched as Jody turned in her direction, “I have a blade behind my nightstand, and she knows that I will use it.  She’s helped me before.”

“What?”  Donna spoke up.

“Me too,” Alex chimed in. 

“How?  When?” Jody looked at them in total disbelief and shrugged.  “It doesn’t matter,” she turned to Sam and Dean, “would you just go and kill these damned thing?”

“Yep,” Dean answered, taking that as a cue to leave and he headed out the door.  Sam shrugged, not able to give her any answers to the questions on her face before he too headed for the door.  Beth was already in the car when they arrived. “What the hell was that?”

“God, I forgot how much she looked like Cas…I mean Jimmy.” Beth laughed as Dean put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway.

“And Alex?” Dean whispered.

“Iowa, a couple months before you were able to get her free, I got involved.  There were three times as many when I met up with them than when you did and I couldn’t get to Alex, though I tried, and she tried to get to me.  Strong head on that girl’s shoulders and I’m glad both of them are under Jody’s wings as much as she hates me right now.” Beth shrugged checking the magazine in her gun.  Sam glanced back at her as she turned towards the back window.

“Jody doesn’t hate you,” Sam whispered and watched as Beth smiled.

“She’s going to pretty much hate any woman that steps into the lives of the two of you, trust me, I’ve seen that momma bear look before.”  

“We’re big boys,” Dean replied, grinning, “I think we’re old enough to pick our own psycho girlfriend.”

Beth laughed as Sam’s smile widened just as they turned into Bobby’s old place.  Dean killed the lights, rolled in as silent as possible and as far as he could before the Impala got stuck between a rock and junk cars.  Once they were sure the night was quiet, they grabbed the bags out of the trunk and headed toward the spot where Sam had spotted the creatures the night before.

Beth walked without a flashlight as the boys checked out the cars while they passed by.  There was no noise, no frogs or crickets. It was like one big automobile graveyard.

“Cue the spooky music,” Beth whispered as she stopped and looked at the one story metal structure in front of her. Sam pinpointed the light on the entrance way and shook his head.

“That thing’s a tetanus shot waiting to happen.”  He grumbled and pulled the machete out of the bag.  Dean had the bag of obols in his hand as he lifted the gun from the back of his jeans and they waited.

The three of them stood in a triangle, backs to one another as they waited.  Beth could feel something brewing, and the boys could sense it flowing off from her.  Her heart pounded, her gut felt like no matter how hard she tried to breath there wasn’t enough air and then she heard the voice.

“Elizabeth?” Her mother’s voice, something she hadn’t heard since she was four and she closed her eyes.

“Fight it, Beth,” Sam encouraged as she opened them once more and stared into the darkness, “it’s not her, it’s a trick.”

“What kind of trick do you think this is, Son?”  John Winchester’s voice filled his ears and Sam stood straight, blade in hand as his anger grew.  “Hand over the bag, Sam, do the right thing for once in your life.”

“Sammy,” Dean’s growling voice broke through the fog that had drifted down over Sam’s thoughts.  “It’s not Dad, you know that.”

“What a bunch of idjits!”  Bobby’s snotty comment almost sent Dean himself over the edge but without the man in front of him there was no way he was falling for it.  “What on earth would bring you back to this hellhole?”

“It’s not real,” Beth whispered taking a step back and she found herself shoulder to shoulder with both Sam and Dean, as the three of them held their ground.  “We know what you want, why don’t you grow some balls and come out and get them?”

“Give me the coins.” A slithering voice called to her and Beth could see the monster step into her line of sight.  

“Where’s your friends?”  Beth teased and reached into Dean’s pocket to grab the small bag.

“You’re playing with fire, little girl.”  It was tall and lanky, like the vampires right out of the old legends, pointed ears, fangs and a bald head.  

“You must be, what, a millennium or two old?  Do you really think I’m playing games?” Beth replied, “I just love playing with fire.”

“I’ll tear your little friends limb from limb while you watch and then I’ll suck you down until your heart is a beat away from stopping.” It grumbled, which was hard to do with all those teeth.

“Try me.” 

Dean licked his lips as she spoke to the creature in front of her, but he didn’t understand a word it was saying to her, only Beth’s replies were in English, whatever the creature was speaking, she was the only one that could understand.

“Where are your playmates?”  Beth questioned.

“Oh, they’re all around, ready to feast on your blood.”  It laughed and she suddenly felt Sam rip away from her, then Dean was gone.  “It looks like you’re all alone.”

“That’s the way I like it.” She swung the blade in her hand, holding it tightly despite the weight of it as gestured him closer with her fingers.  “You want them, you’re going to have to come and get them.”

 

Dean kept his ears trained on her as he swing out at the monster that had jumped down from the cars stacked four high.  He ducked away from the claws the best he could, but it was the teeth he was worried about. It wasn’t long before another one joined him and the fight became two to one.  Dean liked these odds but he took his punches as good as he gave them. Fed up with one of them, he pointed the gun and watched as the creature stopped dead in its tracks.

“Bullets can’t harm us,” it hissed through its teeth. 

“They’re wooden, asshole!”  Dean smiled and pulled the trigger, sending the projectile plunging through its skull, and as he stepped closer, with the other arm he lashed out, chopping off its head with the blade.  

The second creature came flying at him in a rage, unable to distinguish whether it was male or female, Dean tried to do the same thing, but it knocked the gun from his hand, sending it flying under one of the cars. It had him pinned to the ground, those teeth being held at bay the strength of Dean’s lower arm as he reached out for the blade, that sat just beyond his reach. As he shifted over to move closer the handle, the monster swiped its claws at the side of Dean’s face, drawing blood. Dean howled in pain, but it was enough motivation to get in that extra inch and reach the weapon.

With a pissed off look in his eyes, Dean pushed the creature up further, using all the strength in that one arm, enough to take the point of the blade and slowly press it into the soft flesh under the jaw of the monster, feeling it give as he hit where the spine connected and he jabbed the rest of the blade up and threw.

As the thing choked on its own blood, Dean pushed it off and stood over it.  He grabbed the handle, ripped it from the skull and slammed it down across the dead fang’s throat.

 

Sam was ripped away from Beth, his shirt grasped by one of the bloodsucker and with one solid swing of his fist he had the creature stumbling but before he could swing the blade the second one jumped on him from behind.  Sam twisted around, using the legs of the second one to bring the first one down before he did his best to take the sharp end of the blade and swing it backwards, missing his own ear as he lodged it in the back of the monster’s head.  It was stuck, and the dead weight of the creature on his back had him stumbling, but he yanked as hard as he could and felt it give way. 

The dead one fell to his feet and Sam brought the blade down without a second’s hesitation, dislodging the split skull from the rest of the body.  By that time, Fang One had finally gotten his footing and ran full-speed at Sam, using a tackle to have him backed up against a rusty car. Sam slammed his fists down on the back of the monster, before he just gave up and turned the blade, jabbing it down with one quick thrust.  The monster howled in pain, stood up straight and left four gashes across Sam’s chest.

Catching his breath against the sting of the claws, Sam drew the gun and fired it three times, not that all three were necessary, but he was pissed and hurting, and all hit their target, right between the dead eyes.  Even as the olive bullets splintered in its brain, the thing tried to come at him. That was when it stopped suddenly and jerked a couple times. Sam watched as it looked down when the blade moved, disappearing in its gut and suddenly the sharp blade made contact with its neck, slicing the throat in one blinding flash.

Dean looked up at Sam as the creature fell, and both tried hard to catch their breath, glancing at the carnage around them.  Sam looked around and noticed that they were in another part of the yard. Dean gave him the blade and the two of them raced towards the old rusty garage.

 

Beth was bleeding from the claw marks across her head, but the vampire in front of her was doing far worse.  She had clipped him several times with the blade, and she could swear he was holding his guts in by the way he was crouched over.  Beth licked the blood from her bleeding lip and twirled the blade once more.

“Can’t you feel them?”  She whispered to it as the hiss grew in its throat, “all your fledglings are dead, my playmates killed them.”

“I am still stronger than you, pet.”  It laughed and Beth just smiled.

“I think we’ve been a round or two to know that isn’t true.”  As she stood circling him, she began to untie the knot on the leather bag, letting the coins jingle around, catching his attention.  “I know, you want these so bad and they’re in the hands of some little mortal. Come and get them, if you can.”

Sam and Dean came around the corner just as the monster ran towards her and Beth collided with it.  Sam reached back, grabbing Dean by the shirt as she seemed to disappear beneath the body of the creature.

Beth drew back the blade, waiting for it to connect as she raised her hand towards the oncoming monstrosity.  When it was just the right distance, she thrust the blade deep and hard into its chest, breaking through ribs and muscles as it reached the heart.  When it was lodged as far as it could go, Beth looked up into the red, glowing eyes and emptied the bag into her hand, dropping it on the ground.

“This is for using my mother, you son of a bitch!”  She snarled and stuffed the coins into the vampire’s mouth.  Instantly, it began to foam as she pushed its chin up, giving it with no choice but to keep the coins lodged where they were. She pulled the blade back and thrust again, “this is for John.” Her voice was full of rage as she pulled and thrust one more time, “don’t ever use Bobby again!”

The blood began to flow from the creature, seeping on to the ground and covering Beth’s arm as she pulled back one last time on the blade, dislodging it from its ribs and holding on with two hands, she mustered up as much of the strength she had left to swing, removing the foaming head from its torso.

When it crumbled to the ground, so did she, drained of any energy she had, but she could see the signs coming and raised her arm up just as the blinding light zapped the body from existence.  Behind the boys, somewhere in the field of metal and rust, four other flashes could be seen and Beth dropped the blade.

Sam gathered her up in his arms as he sat down on the ground besides her and Dean found a spot just on the other side of them.  Beth looked around the scrapyard and tears filled her eyes. She had never said goodbye to him, and to hear his voice come from that monster was too much. Beth turned and buried her face against Sam’s chest as she cried.  They weren’t blubbering sobs, but the tears were streaming and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

 

With no evidence of their victory, or even that they had battled to begin with except the scratches and bruises they sported, the three of them took turns in the shower, watching the blood disappear down the drain.

Beth stood in front of Dean, as he stared into her eyes. She hadn’t said a word since Bobby’s but her hands were steady enough to put butterfly bandages across the gashes on his cheek. No matter how many times she turned him so she could see better, Dean turned back to make eye contact. She gave him the best smile she could, pressed the last one to his flesh and then kissed him quickly on the lips before she slipped away.

Sam stepped out of the bathroom, the gashes across his chest weren’t as severe as he thought but they warranted some first aid and Dean glanced up at him as Beth made her way to the table, where the rest of the first aid kit was.  Sam tossed the tee-shirt on the bed and watched as Dean shook his head. With a sigh, Sam watched her. Not hearing her voice was one thing, being blocked out of her mind was something completely different.

“Al,” Dean whispered as she stepped over and knelt down on the floor next to Sam. She glanced up at him, bit her lips and applied a few of the butterflies to Sam before using a few pieces of the gauze to create a large enough bandage to cover the rest.  When she stood to leave, each one of them grabbed her hands.

She closed her eyes and let the feel of them flow through her, and she found herself breathing so deeply that she could feel every beat of their heart, hear the sound of the blood rushing through them and she put her head down as her knees gave out.

They didn’t hug her, didn’t pull her close, they just sat down on the floor with her as she collected her thoughts, and then with one last deep breath, she turned and sat against the bed with Sam.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered, “I’ve never felt so empty.” A tear escaped her again and she brushed it aside.  “Mom, John, Bobby, Dad…how many more?”

“We know it’s hard, Kid,” Dean spoke up, grabbing her leg so that she would stretch it out towards him, giving him something to hold on to.  

“I never got to say goodbye to any of them, not even my own father; that jerk!”  She tried to smile when she said it but she looked at the two of them. “I have you, but I’m so afraid of that same thing, not being there with you.  It’s stupid really, why would anyone think “what if I’m not there when they die?” but I do. Jody might be right, I think I’m certifiable.” 

“Welcome to the club,” Sam laughed.

“Yeah, Club Winchester,” Dean laughed, “where only the real crazy people get in.”

Beth laughed and felt Sam kiss her on the temple as she looked out at the neon glow of the motel sign.  There was a knock on the door, just as she was about to give him a smartass comeback, but Sam stood and walked over slowly.  With a glance out the window, he reached for the knob and opened it wide enough for Jody to step in. Beth rolled her eyes, sliding over to sit next to Dean on the floor as Jody glanced between the shirtless boys and Beth.

“That’s my cue,” Beth whispered, kissed Dean on the forehead and walked into the bathroom.

Sam pulled on a shirt, and Dean did the same as Jody glanced around the room. 

“I, ah, just wanted to come by and say thank you for saving our asses, not just the girls, but the whole town.”  Jody shrugged and watched as Dean stood, still leaning against the dresser. “And I wanted to apologize for being so harsh on your relationship with Beth, I guess I just didn’t understand,” she paused, “I don’t understand it but as long as you’re happy that’s all that should matter.”

“It does matter.” Sam answered, crossing his arms as he glanced at the bathroom, “she’s all that matters.”

“Sammy,” Dean whispered and watched his brother shrug.  It wasn’t like Sam to be so defensive and rude but he could see where it was coming from. They had just been in one of the biggest fights in a while and Beth was smack in the middle of it.

“I’m sorry, I just want to take her home and have some resemblance of a normal life, even if that’s not what other people consider it.”  Sam turned to Jody, opened his arms and she accepted his hug before he walked over and knocked on the door, slipping into the bathroom quietly.  

Dean sighed and looked over at the sheriff. “Well you can’t say we don’t make life exciting.”

“Very true.”  Jody smiled, and reached out to hug him.  Dean accepted with a smile on his face, but his eyes went towards the bathroom door.  “Where are you headed next?”

“Sounds like back to New York,” he grinned, “we’ve got a house and an angel to check on before we go off wandering the country.”

“She’s domesticating you?” Jody laughed, “I never thought I’d see the day when not one but both Winchester boys settled down in a house with a white picket fence.”

“And an arsenal in the hidden basement,” Dean winked.

“Be safe, Dean, and stay in touch.”  Jody glanced at the bathroom door, “all of you.”

“Will do.”  He replied, closing it after her.

There was just enough time to catch some sleep before they started their long drive home.  Dean moved the table that separated the beds, and pushed them together. He waited, giving the bathroom door a look or two before he lay on his side facing the other bed, tucked the pillow under his head and stretched his arm out.  He was in a light sleep when he felt the small hand tuck into his as the comforters on the bed beside him rustled.

With Sam beside her and Dean’s hand holding hers, Beth was able to keep the nightmares away, but she wasn’t sure about what would happen next.

In the darkness of the night, the phone on the table behind Dean vibrated…   
  



	13. Big, Bad, and Ugly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new twist on old lore has the terrible trio finding themselves in quite a pickle. Throw in two teenage girls and a party in the woods and you have the recipe for just about the worst night out ever.

Big, Bad, and Fury 

SPNFanfic #13

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Jody, Donna, Claire, Alex and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

Then

 

The sound of the club was so loud that it cancelled out the noise of the rain against the metal trash bins in the darkness of the back alley, but all the hooded figure could hear was the music in the earphones as they stood against the wall.  An old song drowned out the noise the rain made as it hit the dark leather jacket, but it didn’t stop the cold from seeping through, soaking right down to the core and their body let out a shiver. The beat to “Jukebox Hero” went right along with the thump of their heart beating, and the lyrics matched the night.

_ “Standing in the rain, _

_ With his head hung low…” _

Their eyes focused upwards, growing wide, as a large man entered the alley. There was no fear, only acknowledgment that this was what they had been waiting all night in the weather for, just a chance encounter, just that possibility. 

The man was coming straight for the figure, the coppery-sweet smell of blood in the air as if he knew just where to find that one particular person in a city as big as this one.  The smaller of the two, the one against the wall, never picked their head up, never moved from the spot where they stood, one foot against the wall, both hands tucked into the coat, even as the brute looked down at them.

The new arrival sniffed the air, took in that rich scent of blood and sprouted fangs, sharp, nasty canines that accompanied a deep throated growl and pointed claws.  The man had become one scary looking monster, and there was only one way to deal with those.

“My, what big teeth you have,” Beth grinned as picked her head up from under the rain-soaked hoodie, her wet hair falling into her eyes and the werewolf stepped back as her bright blue eye reflected the neon sign above.  She unsheathed the machete and swung towards the man. Completely thrown off guard by the small woman before him, he never moved, and with one silent swipe through the air, she watched the blade slice clean through before the body and the head fell in opposite directions.

The smile never left her face as she twirled the blade twice before she slipped it back into its hiding spot and stepped over the crumbled form that lay in a puddle.  She never looked back, never blinked, just walked into the darkness.

 

NOW

 

Dean watched her walk up to him, the smile across his face was nothing but pride, but he was tired of standing in the rain.  His coat was soaked and as Beth stopped not more than a foot in front of him, he could see she was shivering. 

“Classy,” he nodded and she curtsied before reaching him. 

“You try being a puppy treat in the rain.” She ducked into the doorway beside him, took her coat off and shook as much of the rain from it as she could before putting it back on.  Dean just stood there at staring at her, with not a full-on grin, but a sly, sexy smile that made her heart jump as he looked her over. The thin sweatshirt she wore underneath gave him a view of the chill that ran through her and Beth laughed.  “Get your mind out of the gutter, Dean!”

“You realized I’ve been watching you for an hour,” Dean’s comment was more of a statement than a question. Beth slipped back on the jacket.

“You do realize that there was an awning over there you could have stood under,” she laughed and patted him on the chest. “Where’s Sam?”

“He and Jody decided to track down the den.”  Dean turned and the two of them made their way down the street, heading towards the black car that waited for them.  “Anything from the big guy?”

“He didn’t have enough time to do anything but show me his fangs.”  Beth replied as she stood on the other side of the Impala as Dean opened the door.

“Fair enough,” Dean gave her a half nod and started up the car, revving the engine as he pulled out of the small alleyway.

 

Sam picked up the phone from his lap and looked at Jody, who sat in the driver’s seat of the small red pick-up truck they had borrowed.  They were watching a den just off the small country road outside Sioux Falls but there was very little going on, in fact it was like a typical Friday night.

He hit the recent calls and pressed on Dean’s name and watched as the faceless avatar popped up, and the call connected.

_ “Yeah,” _ Dean’s voice was full of smiles and Sam shook his head.

“Wow, how about a hello?”

_ “Hello, Sammy!” _  Beth yelled into the phone and Sam could hear Dean put the phone down and on speaker.  Jody laughed as Sam’s grin widened and his eyes sparkled at the sound of her voice. 

“Hey, Baby.”  Something he never usually called her, but intense feelings he had been getting from her time in the alley had worn on his nerves and the sound of her voice washed them all away.

_ “Dean’s trying to grope me!”  _  But there was laughter in her voice that Sam just beam.

_ “You wish!”  _ Dean laughed. 

“I’m going to guess your little venture was a success?” Jody piped up, breaking up the comedy.

_ “Man, you should have seen it,” _ Dean’s voice came over the line,  _ “we’re making Beth our DH, she’s got one hell of a swing.” _

“Dude, are you gushing?”  Sam questioned, feeling the pride through the phone.

_ “No!” _ Dean blurted out right away, but Sam knew.  _ “We’re headed back to the motel, both of us are soaked and cold and Beth needs to get rid of those clothes.” _  Dean paused for a moment,  _ “that came out wrong.” _

“Dean,” Sam laughed, “it’s okay, man!”

_ “Just hurry your ass back,” _ Dean snapped, not happy that he had made himself uncomfortable and disconnected the call.

Sam smiled down at the phone before sticking it back in his pocket and he caught the glare of Jody’s stare out of the corner of his eyes, but it didn’t soften the grin on his face.

“I still don’t get it,” she spot softly as she watched him stare out the windshield, but slowly Sam turned his head to look at her, “but I can see that she makes you both happy and that’s the only thing I really care about.”

“She’s one of a kind,” Sam laughed.

“And the fact that she’s at the room with Dean and not here with you?”

“He’s the one she needs when she goes into a hunt.”

“You’re just as good of a hunter as he is,” Jody wasn’t sure what made Dean so special.  Sam thought for a moment, trying to gather the right words and he looked up her.

“The three of us can do things that most people can’t,” Sam explained.

“Like what?”

“Like right now, I can tell you exactly what both of them are feeling.  Hell, I could tell you what Beth is thinking,” Sam laughed, “and they can do the same to me.”

“You have a telepathic link to one another?”  Jody questioned, not sure she believed him, but then she stopped and thought about it. “Wait, the odd looks the three of you are always giving each other?  You’re talking to one another?”

“Yeah and the way it goes, Dean brings out her hunter side, which makes her stronger against things like the werewolf she went up against tonight.  I give her strength in different areas, she’s faster, more cunning, together all three of us can work…”

“Magic,” Jody smiled.  “You’re bound by magic.”

“You could say that.”  Sam looked out at the rain covered windshield and shrugged.  “I feel everything she does. I know how much she cares about me, and about Dean, it’s why they are…well, the way they are. He swore his life to her and so did I. How did Becca put it?  We’re hers and she’s ours.”

“Okay, so maybe this question is overstepping my lines, but what about sex?”  Sam gave her a look of pure uncertainty and shifted around in the seat. “She’s not sleeping with both of you, is she?”

“No, her and I are together.  Beth and Dean…” Sam shrugged, “they’re Beth and Dean.  They’ve always been close, and I don’t have a problem with that.”

“Okay, so explain the whole dream thing to me.  I noticed over the last few days that when she sleeps, Dean is close by.”  Jody was glad Sam was opening up, she really wanted to get into his head about his girlfriend, especially the oddness of their relationship.

“Think of it this way, I’m sane and rational, Dean…well Dean jumps headfirst into the fire, which emotions do you think he could help Beth with the most?”

“So she’s been having nightmares?”

“Memories really, but they’re the stuff nightmares are made of.”  Sam stopped himself from talking, as he felt that tingle on the edge of his mind.  Beth was listening in on his conversation and he felt her humor at his explanations, but his own thoughts turned serious as he looked up at Jody.  “When we first met back in Massachusetts, I didn’t remember her. Dean protected her with his life, and when I did get my memories back, I knew it had always been that way, even when we were younger.  I’m not going to put myself between something like that, especially if it keeps her safe.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like much is going on here tonight, why don’t we head back and we can get together in the morning.” Jody smiled and watched as Sam nodded, eager to return to his brother and Beth.

 

Dean sat on the bed, his back against the pillows and the headboard watching some strange show on the box-style TV.  He had taken his shower first, bagged up Beth’s jeans, which were soaked in blood and tossed them in the back of the Impala as she showered, and he was just relaxing waiting for Sam to arrive.

Beth stepped out of the steam-filled room, her hair brushed out, wearing an old tee-shirt and sweats that always made her look more enticing than she knew, and she crawled up the bed towards Dean, where she found a comfortable spot to sit, her back against him, between his legs.  Dean moved his pillows around a bit, lowering himself so that she could lean back. Beth rested her head on his chest, just below his chin and Dean put one arm around her.

“Beth,” he whispered, and listened to her hum a response, “you’re getting me all wet.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She smiled and felt him take a hand full of her hair with his free hand, moving it out from under her so that his shirt wouldn’t be quite so soaked, but he played with the wet strands, twirling them in his fingers. 

“You know Jody’s going to come in with him,” Dean laughed, “and you sitting this way on me…”

“I…don’t…care.” He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was very relaxed and, letting go of her hair, he wrapped both arms around her.  Beth crossed her arms, taking each of his hands in hers and let her eyes drift shut. Dean kissed the back of her head and slowly let his own heavy lids close.

 

Sam opened the door, completely aware of the situation he would be walking into, but Jody just stopped and looked as at the two people comfortably spooning on the bed.  They had switched positions, and Dean lay with one arm under his pillow and the other wrapped around Beth, whose eyes slowly opened to the sound of the door squeaking.

She sat up, against the wishes of the arm that surrounded her and listened to the protest Dean made when she slipped out from under it.  Sam opened his arms, and waited as she stumbled over to him, half-asleep and nestled close to his body, moving his wet jacket out of the way so she could listen to his heart.

Sam glanced back at Jody, who smiled, but shook her head at the scene, as he wrapped his arms around Beth and kissed her on the head.

“Hey, when you get out of bed, at least give me a freaking blanket.  You took the heat with you!” Dean grumbled as he fumbled around with his comforter, before tucking himself under it and turning over.  Beth laughed, which was muffled by Sam’s shirt. “I hear you, Peterson! Bite me!”

“Go back to sleep, Dean,” Beth slipped out of Sam’s arms and crawled up on the bed, kissing Dean on the cheek.  He reached for her hand and held it to his lips until she slipped away to sit down with Jody and Sam at the table. She made a small cup of coffee to wake up, sat with her hands wrapped around the mug.

“Anything on the den?”  Beth questioned as her thoughts connected with Sam’s and Dean’s as the man on the bed made some odd noises.  Sam took her hand, breaking her connection to his brother and she looked over at the two of them.

“They seem to be doing what any other den does, party.”  Sam replied and both of them looked over as Dean made another noise in his sleep.  “What is he dreaming about?”

“It’s just a weird sequence,” she whispered and turned back to him, but Sam watched the concern in her eyes as she took a sip of the coffee.

“Beth, talk to me,” Sam whispered and watched as she looked between the two of them.

“Wait, you can see his dreams?”  Jody questioned.

“And he can see mine,” Beth shrugged and her eyes focused on Sam’s. “They’re not Dean’s usual dreams.  These ones are almost like memories, strange flashing ones that only make sense if you know what you need to fill in the blanks. I’m sure it’s nothing.”  Sam kissed the fingers of the hand he held and let her go back to her coffee. “So, the wolf last night was typical, he was drawn to the scent of the blood, and did exactly what you would think any Were would do, but it wasn’t just his fangs that changed, it was his hands too.”

“What’s so special about his hands?”  

“Most Weres can fang-out against the moon, but the claws mean he could full-on flip but that’s usually only fourth Gens from a purebred. If you had any of those around here, we’d probably see more activity.”  Beth shook her head. “But, if he could do that, maybe your den is different somehow.”

“Like your kind of different?” Jody questioned, Beth shrugged.  

“We’d have to look for signs.  Anything that might signify that the Olympians are fooling around but you have to understand, Lycanthropy was big in Greek Mythology.” Beth turned quickly and stood, slipping out of Sam’s hand.  Sam watched as she sat down next to Dean and ran her fingers over his temple quieting whatever was going on in his mind, but she looked back at them. “We need to get into that den and see if there is anything related. Runes, sigils, anything that might signal that they’re involved.”

“We’ll wait until the morning.”  Jody replied as she stood from the chair and glanced down at Sam.  “Come over for breakfast, about nine, that should give us all enough time to get some sleep.”

Sam nodded and watched as Jody walked quietly out the door.  He made his way towards the bed and sat across from her. He reached out and put both hands on her knees and watched as she turned to look at him, her eyes full of emotions.

“He’ll be okay, Beth, come to bed,” he whispered, watching as she nodded and slowly she slipped under the covers into his arms, both of them facing Dean as the lights went off in the room.

 

Sam felt the pain in his chest as his lungs fought to grab the cold night air and bring in as much of it as he could as he ran through the woods.  Something was behind him. Something  _ big _ !   He cut through the underbrush and ducked in between the trees but the beast was gaining on him, no matter how much he ran.

His foot locked on a downed tree, not something that usually happened since his eyesight was pretty perfect in the dark but there it was, and there he went, right down to the ground.  When he looked up to his left, his hair falling into his eyes, he came face to face with Dean’s dead eyes, gray and lifeless. 

Sam’s heart thumped against his ribs and he shook his head.  NO! There was no way his brother was dead, but the lack of a throat didn’t help his argument much at all.  Sam grabbed Dean by the face and looked him over. His skin was ashen and there was no breath or beat of his heart, too much blood and not enough movement told Sam what he never wanted to know.  His brother was gone, but the monster was right behind him.

Sam turned as it growled, backing him up against the tree that blocked his way, and he reached over, placing a protective hand on Dean’s unmoving shoulder. If he was going out, he was going with his brother at his side no matter what.

The wolf was huge, black and evil, not like the Cerberus but definitely something that could bring on Hell itself.  Its cold, wet nose came right up to the face of the man against the tree, with a head likely two sizes bigger than Sam’s himself, there was no way he was going to be able to fight it barehanded.  He had no weapons, and with the man beside him on the ground now gone from this world there was nothing but that welcoming death. 

The wolf breathed him in, getting so close that he thought the jaws of the monster were about to close down on him, but just as the yellow eyes backed away, ready to strike, Sam saw a muzzle flash, not something a gun of this century would do but the wolf yelped in pain and then, in anger, lashed out.  The last thing Sam saw before he closed his eyes was that mouth full of teeth coming towards his face.

 

He shot up in bed, trying to catch his breath as he looked down at Beth, his fingers spread widely over her small stomach.  Sam checked the other bed and watched as Dean moved his arm up, placing a fist against the middle of his forehead. Sam gave a quick smile, relieved that his brother was fine before he slipped out of the covers and made his way into the bathroom.

With the light on and the door closed almost completely, Sam stared at his own eyes in the mirror. It was just a dream, he kept telling himself, just a dream, and he leaned down to splash water on his face but when he looked up once again, he saw the yellow eyes of the wolf staring back at him.

“Jesus!” He stifled a yell as he stumbled backwards, catching himself by the towel rack to steady his feet before he stumbled into the tub.  His chest heaved as he stood and made his way back. There was nothing wrong with his eyes, they were the same greenish-blue they had always been and he let out a sigh. “Wake up, Sam, wake up!”

“Sam?”  He heard Beth call from the bed. Slowly he opened the door, after composing himself, flipped off the light and walked over to where she sat up on the bed.  Her eyes full of concern. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he whispered as he gathered her in his arms against and pulled her down to the bed.  “Just a bad dream.”

“It seems to be going around.”  Dean’s voice replied as the two men made eye contact, but Beth had already settled in and was halfway gone as Sam gave him just one look.  

They didn’t need the connection to communicate, they knew just what the other was thinking by the way their eyes were, and Sam knew that Dean’s dream had been just as bad. When she wasn’t around, they would discuss it, but until then, there was about four more hours of sleep that they could try to get before making their way to Jody’s.

Dean couldn’t sleep, he slipped out of bed, grabbed his discarded jeans from the floor and slipped them on as Sam watched his brother without moving, not wanting to disturb the woman he had his arms so protectively around.  He could see the blue light from the laptop flash on as Dean sat at the table, facing him so that the movement on the screen wouldn’t affect him but there was no way Sam was going back to sleep now.

There was something about the way that wolf acted that made Sam question it’s motives.  He had come to realize that in the last few months, nothing was  _ just a dream _ . There were signs and hints in everything they did, but then again he could chalk it up to the fact that they had been out hunting a den of these things just hours before.  Sam sighed, laid his head on the pillow, tucked himself up closer to Beth and listened to Dean tap on the keyboard until it sent him into a light sleep.

 

It was Beth’s sudden jerk that brought him back to the real world and she turned to look at him, her blue eyes just as bright as ever.  She gave him a weak smile, one that told him that her dreams were just as full of daisies and rainbows as his and she slid out of bed, but not before Sam caught her and held it until her fingers slipped away and she disappeared into the bathroom. 

Sam turned and looked at his brother, Dean was still sitting at the table but his head was resting on his arm and his eyes were tightly closed.  Whatever the man was looking up, it had put him back to sleep. Sam moved from the bed, sneaking over to see what was going on, and expected a porn sight but there was nothing on the screen except research about wolves and the population in the area. He shivered as he looked at the images on the screen, the big yellow eyes of the one right in the front gave him the chills and he slowly shut the computer.  

Beth watched him from the bathroom door as he yawned and stretched before turning in her direction, which gave her the perfect view of his backside. The smile on her face as he turned to look at her told him everything he needed to know, she was just in that kind of mood.

“We need to get out of this hotel,” she smiled and Sam slipped the Impala keys from the table, dangling them from his fingers as she glanced at the sleeping Dean.  

The phone on the dresser had other ideas for the couple that morning as it started to vibrate on the counter.  Sam gave her a confused look as he walked over and grabbed it just before it went over the edge. Dean sat up and blinked through the sleepiness in his eyes as he went from one to the other, his eyes resting on Beth’s bare legs.  She raised an eyebrow as he gave her a sly grin, and then shook her head as she turned back to the bathroom, only to get a whistle from him.

Sam placed the phone to his ear as he sat down on the bed.  “What’s up Jody?”

_ “We have another one.” _ She replied and Sam pushed the speaker phone.   _ “That makes seven in the last three days.” _

“Good thing we didn’t run out of town that night after the Vamps.”  Dean said sarcastically and put his head down on the table. “Where the hell’s the coffee?”

“I’ll go grab some,” Beth whispered as she walked by, snatching the Impala’s keys from Sam and Dean noticed she was suddenly completely dressed even though she had only been in the bathroom for mere moments.  She winked at him as she disappeared out the door. He heard the rumble of the car start and watched as she backed it out of the parking lot.

“Dude, you just gave her my car,” Dean whined as Sam frowned.

“Where was this one?”  Sam questioned Jody.

_ “Listen I know we said nine but do you want to just come over now and get this going, there isn’t much more I can do over the phone.  I’m at the scene now and could use some assistance.” _  She stressed and Sam looked at Dean who just gave a slight shrug.

“We’ll be there in ten,” Sam replied, “just text the address.”

He hung up the phone and walked over to the small coat rack that sat close to the bathroom, grabbed his suit from the bar and walked into the bathroom.

“Coffee first, man.” Dean grumbled and looked out the window, looking for signs of his car.  

Sam had just finished changing and was putting on his tie when Dean stood and watched the Impala pull gently into the parking spot.  He knew how much that car meant to his brother and he smiled as Beth walked in, placed the keys down ever so gently on the table and then brought the coffee to the dresser.

She looked up at Sam, as Dean snatched the keys up before he took a coffee cup and made his way over to the rack himself.

“Case?”  She whispered and watched as he expertly looped the red-striped tie, tightening it until it was perfectly centered on his neck.

“Body,” Sam answered and leaned over to her.  “You can come along if you want to hide in the back seat, I know you want to get out of here.”

Beth grabbed him by the tie and pulled him down closer, “I’d like to go home, I’m pretty sure there’s an angel running rampant on my carpet, and angel stains are the hardest thing to get out.”

“Yeah,” Sam laughed, “I could see that.”  He kissed her lightly on the lips and turned as Dean came out of the bathroom.  

It was apparently a race to see who could get dressed the fastest this morning, but Beth still won because Dean was having an issue with the blue tie in his hand.  Sam stood as Beth let the tie slip from her hands and she moved to stand on Dean’s bed after kicking off her shoes. The green-eyed man stared at her as she tied the constrictive fabric in a clean knot before shifting it up to fit against his neck.  Dean winked at her, his thoughts going to the strange movie he had watched a couple nights before. Something Shades…he didn’t care, but the tie made him think of some interesting things and Beth slapped him hard on the shoulder before she leaned close to his ear.

“Get your head out of the gutter!” Her voice whispered, the warmth brushing his ear.  Yeah, that was definitely going to help the situation. She hopped off the bed and Dean turned to look at Sam while Beth put her shoes on, and the older brother rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his heart.  “Okay, Feds, let’s go look at a body!”

 

Dean pulled up to the wooded area, cutting the engine as he and Sam looked out towards the passengers’ side of the car, there were cops everywhere and the sun hadn’t even come up yet.  Lights shined down on the victim and both men looked at the empty backseat as they heard the click of the door and Dean gave a look of pride as Sam sighed. 

Beth, dressed in black, made her way around the scene as the boys headed towards the woman standing there waiting for them, her hands on her gun belt.  Sam and Dean both flashed their badges at the other officers there and Jody gestured towards where the body was located. This gave Beth enough time to watch, as Sam glanced into the woods behind him trying to spot her, before he followed after the woman.  She was stealthy and with the aid of the two ahead of her, they lead her right to the spot. 

Her footfalls were silent as she snuck around.  The rain the night before had dampened the leaves enough to hide anything that made its way through there, which made Beth curious.  She climbed up onto a large stump and looked at the ground surrounding her. It took her a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness before she saw her first clue.

The impression was light but it was definitely a path that led from the body into the woods. 

_ “What do you think the Sheriff would think of a lead?” _ The vibration from her mind to Sam’s made him stand up straighter.

 

Sam glanced over in her direction and she smiled, it was great when he knew just where to find her but he gave a slight shake of his head before turning back to the conversation that was going on around him.  Before him lay a body, not unlike anything he had seen in the past, but this one seemed a little different. Sam leaned down as Dean took in every other aspects of the area. He used a nearby stick to pick up the hand of the victim and glanced over it a few times before he noticed the nails.  This one was a werewolf one that hadn’t transformed back completely after the attack and Sam looked up at Dean and Jody. There was definitely something strange here.

 

Beth kept an eye on the impressions, following them carefully further into the woods.  She watched with fascination as they grew and she could make out the indentation of toes.  Beth stopped, looking up into the clearing that she had entered and looked at the old barn that hid in the woods, just past the open field.

That was when she heard it, the deep-throated growl of an animal, not a monster, not something inhuman but a real, wild animal.  It stepped out into what little moonlight there was and faced her. A large, full-bodied black wolf with a full coat of fur. He was healthy, more so than she thought he should have been considering the time of year and the way that the other wildlife in the area had been lacking.  With a deep breath, Beth lowered her body, her eyes locked on the animal and she backed into the cover of the trees. 

For just a second, she watched him as he moved up to the tree line and sniffed where she had been standing but it never came any closer.  In fact, it looked like he had squinted his eyes to locate her before turning and taking off towards the barn.

Beth could take a hint and she made a dash for the Impala, moving as fast as she possibly could to keep ahead of the animal, should it decide that she would make a great dinner.  She was ducked down in the backseat of the car when Sam and Dean climbed in, shutting the doors with a bang as if they were a squabbling couple. Both turned at the same time and looked over at her sitting between the driver’s seat and the soft black interior of the bottom of the backseat, her earbuds tucked in.

With a sigh, after the long moment of waiting for her song to end, she removed the buds and looked up at them.  

“I think we have a problem here.”  She gave them a mocking grin and watched them both turn around, the car rumbled to life and she was able to make it up to the seat as they finally pulled away from the scene.

“We’re on our way to Jody’s, we can all talk there.”  Dean’s voice was gruff, as if he were angry with her or something else in the world but she knew he could come off that way, especially when his morning coffee was interrupted.

Sam turned in the seat after a few minutes of complete silence, even the music was off, and looked over the woman who was now on the seat, tucked up against the door. “Where did you go?”  

“Moonlight stroll through the woods,” she shrugged and winked at him.  Sam glanced over her and waited for another moment before he shook his head before turning back to the road.  “What’s wrong with the two of you? You both look like the family dog ate your favorite sneakers.”

“It wasn’t a dog,” Dean mumbled.

“Our vic was a werewolf,” Sam replied and watched her face go pale in the rearview. Beth looked out the window and shook her head.  She knew something was funny with those footprints but they were almost to Jody’s house. It would be better to explain her theory after breakfast.

 

The house was bustling with activity when Beth, Sam and Dean walked in through the door.  Beth stopped and removed her mud covered shoes, leaving them outside before she smiled at Donna, who offered her a seat at the counter.  Claire leaned over, watching her devour a few strips of the bacon as she alternated the meat with the coffee. Beth looked up and smiled at the blond girl before her and watched as Claire also glanced back behind her at Sam and Dean who sat in the dining room table eating the other adults.

“So you’re dating them both?”  Claire questioned, her voice low as Beth smiled.

“No, just Sam,” Beth took a sip of the hot coffee and watched as Alex sat down.  

“So what’s up with you and Dean?  Jody said you were in a really weird relationship.”  Alex inquired.

“Dean is what we call “pie-denied”.” She whispered but suddenly felt something bounce off the back of her head.  Both girls laughed as Beth sat up and turned in Dean’s direction. He gave her a snotty look and all Beth did was reply with a wide grin.  “Okay, so yeah, Dean and I have something too, just not to the extent of Sam.”

“Weird.”  Alex laughed and walked away but Claire stood there staring at her.

“What’s up, Chicky?”  Beth questioned, placing the mug on the table.

“Cas,” the blond girl whispered, and Beth sighed.  “Does he ask about me?”

“Every time he calls.”  Beth shrugged, she didn’t want to keep any secrets from the girl.  It was a matter of trust. “He would come if you asked.”

“It’s just a weird situation,” Claire stood up straight and Beth pointed to the two men behind her and watched as Claire smiled. “Point taken.”

“Listen, Claire, you’re a great girl.  Your dad would be proud, so would your mom but you have a family here that needs you to be strong.”  Beth picked at the bacon on her plate, scanned over the face of the teenager and narrowed her eyes. “Are you going out with friends tonight?”

“We had planned on it.”  She looked at Beth with concern as if the older woman might tell.

“Stay away from the barn in the woods outside the town line, it’s not safe.”  Beth advised. She stood from the table, reached over and patted Claire on the shoulder, leaning in close.  “And bring a silver knife.”

“If Jody hears that she’s going to pitch a fit.”

“Better a fit, than a funeral.”  Beth grabbed the coffee cup and walked over to the table where the others had finished eating.  She pulled up a seat next to Sam, as Dean moved over to the end chair as Donna and Jody settled in.  “Can I hear about the victim now?”

Jody watched as Alex and Claire moved into the living room, out of earshot and then she turned her sights on the woman before her.  “He was a werewolf.”

“That I got from the two chatterboxes on the way over, but I need to know anything else about him,” Beth watched as Jody pulled out her phone again and slid it over to her.  Beth swiped through the photos and nodded. “Yep,” she sighed, “son of a bitch.”

“Hey,” Dean spoke up, as if that was his line.

“So I have a theory,” Beth stated passing the phone back, as she glared at Dean, “anyone care to hear it or do you three think you have this one in the bag?”

“What were you doing in the woods?”  Sam asked again, which made her smile.  She knew he wouldn’t take her “stroll” as an answer.

“Following a lead,” she replied and watched as Jody’s eyes got wide.  “There were tracks leading from the body to the edge of the woods but as I went along those tracks, which by the way started out animal, became footprints. Bare footprints.”

“So a shifter?”  Dean questioned.

“No, I think we’re still dealing with Weres, just a bit different.”  Beth couldn’t sit anymore and found herself looking out the window as the four of them waited.  “Dean was looking up wolves last night, Sam woke up from a nightmare about one but the thing was they were just wolves at least until I met the one in the woods.”

“What?” Dean snapped, his protective voice coming through.

“Don’t worry, I was armed,” she turned and leaned against the sill as she stared at him.  Dean finally relaxed and made himself comfortable again. “Anyway, so I met this one on the tree line, it was large and I’m not talking just height, he had some muscle to him.  He didn’t attack, he just sniffed where I was standing and the two of us went our separate ways.”

“So what makes you think this is connected?” Jody questioned.

“Remember when you asked if this was our kind of different?”  Jody nodded and Beth crossed her arms. “This is definitely Greek mythology level Lycanthropy.”

“How do you know?”  Donna questioned.

“You don’t get that kind of human emotions in the eyes of a wolf, plus with the change in pattern from wolf print to footprint.  I think we’re dealing with something of the Lycanthrope nature, and I think I can explain Sam’s dream.”

“You saw my dream?”  Sam whispered and quickly looked at Dean.  The sudden concern in his younger brother’s eyes had Dean worried.

“Achilles killed the Priam, the second Lycaon.” 

Dean rolled his eyes. “Is there anyone in mythology that I haven’t pissed off yet?”

“What does one have to do with the other, or Dean?” Jody inquired.

“It’s complicated,” Beth and Dean replied at the same time which got a little grunt of a laugh from Sam.  

“Look, the problem with this is one thing, you can’t kill a Lycanthrope when they are in wolf form, they have to be human. Silver will hurt them but just like Vamps, it’s off with their heads to really end it.”  

“What kind of wolves are we talking about?”  Jody again piped.

“Think less American Werewolf and more Team Jacob,” Beth shrugged, putting her hands up as if she wasn’t sure exactly how to explain it. Donna and Jody both got the reference for the second half but Dean looked at her as if she had two head.  “Sparkly Vamps.”

Dean nodded, that was all she had to say, he didn’t care who the characters were, he just went with the program. Beth put a hand on her cheek, stood gazing out the window and let her thoughts go to the man last night, the one she took care of and she listened to Sam clear his throat.

With a jolt, as if the noise had scared her, she looked up at him and locked gazes with his eyes.  There was something sitting in the back of her mind, something that she couldn’t seem to place, but the longer she stared at him the more it came to her.

“A muzzle flash,” she whispered and noticed Sam sit up.  He hadn’t even thought about that part of the dream, all he kept seeing was his brother.  

“What’s going on now?”  Jody questioned and Sam knew that when Beth was working on any kind of thought process, she tended to ignore the questions around her.

“In my dream, there was a wolf but before he struck, there was a flash of a gun, like powder had gone off and that was when it attacked, but I didn’t think anything of it before.”  Sam replied and both of them watched as Beth paced back and forth.

“You got something, Bee?”  Dean questioned. 

“Is there an old armory nearby?”  She asked Jody, who shook her head, but when Beth’s eyes met Dean’s, he knew he wasn’t going to like what was coming next.  “I need to borrow the car.”

“Wait,” Dean whispered, “what?”

“The car, Dean.”  Beth raised her eyebrows.

“Oh no, you are not taking my car without telling me just what you’re going to do with it.”  The look on Beth’s face faded as she shot a glance at the not one, but two sheriffs in the room.  “Oh, right.” Dean stood, fixing his tie. “I’ll go with you.”

“Not dressed like that, Fedboy!”  Beth laughed and he glanced down at the suit. 

“Oh, come on, I could totally pull of something illegal in…”Dean glanced at Jody and Donna, “I’ll go get some clothes out of the car.”

Beth walked over and leaned down to Sam’s ear, something that was unnecessary since she was just going to use their connection anyway, but she wanted the response of breathing close to him.

_ “Do you want to come with, just to get out of here?” _ She questioned and Sam’s breath caught as she blew on his ear.  He cleared his throat and sat up straight before reaching up and grasping onto her small hand.

_ “I leave this room with you and it’s not going to be to go track down whatever it is you’re looking for.”  _  Beth smiled and backed away, catching his eyes as he stared up at her.  She leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. _ “That isn’t helping.” _

_ “It’s keeping me from taking you up on that offer.”  _  She replied and listened to the uncomfortable shifting of the women across the table before she finally backed away.  “We won’t be long.”

“Be safe,” he reached up and touched her cheek softly, “be smart.”

“Always,” was the only thing she could think of saying because where she was taking Dean, she wasn’t sure it was either of those things. Dean walked in, shrugging on a light coat over his button down and tee, and looked at her.  “Ready?”

“Where exactly are you going?”  Jody questioned and watched as Beth shrugged before walking towards the older of the two brothers.  Jody’s eyes rested on Sam’s, who was glancing back and forth between them.

“I got her, Sammy.” Dean reassured him as the two made their way to the door.

“Dean,” Sam’s voice stopped him and his older brother glanced back.  

There was only a short look exchanged between them, not even telepathic, but Dean gave a slight nod and followed Beth out the door.  Sam didn’t have to tell his brother he was concerned, it was fully evident in his eyes. Sam listened to the engine rumble to life and he sat back in his chair, glancing down at the coffee in front of him.

“Did she tell you what she was doing?”  Jody spoke up as she moved to sit beside him. 

“She never tells me, never tells him either, we just go with the flow.”  Sam laughed but it faded. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Jody, and I’m not sure how to tell her.”

“Just like you told me would be a great start to it.”  

Sam nodded, and grabbed his cellphone.  He walked out to the deck in the backyard and listened to the phone ring.  After about the fifth ring, he heard it connect. 

_ “Peterson,” _ she answered, probably never even looking at her phone before she accepted.

“My gut is telling me this is a bad idea,” Sam spoke softly into the phone, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

_ “We can come back,” _ she offered, taking him seriously.

“It’s that dream, Beth, I can’t shake it.”

_ “I know,” _ Sam leaned on his hand, his elbow on the railing as he rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand.   _ “I think we all need a break, don’t you?” _

“Break,” Sam snickered, “the last time we took a break some mermaid attacked you.”

_ “No, the last time we had a break, we had a small, three-bedroom house in upstate New York.” _  Beth laughed and listened to him sigh.

“I actually miss that place.”

_ “I miss our bed,” _ Beth confessed, which made Sam smile,  _ “and our door, and any other room that I could get you alone in.” _

_ “Hey, I’m trying to drive here!” _  Dean’s voice popped up in the background as Beth laughed.

“Where are you going?”  Sam questioned, this time it was something he  _ needed  _ to know.

_ “Bobby always made copies, remember?” _  Sam smiled as he nodded, not that she could see.   _ “Well, in Garretson, he also had a stash of old weapons locked away there.” _

“So you’re looking for what?”

_ “Believe it or not, I think we’re looking for a pistol.” _

_ “We have a ton of them.” _  Dean put in his thoughts.

_ “No, not just any pistol, the one I saw, well, the one Sam dreamed is a New Land Cavalry Pistol.” _

“How do you know that?”  Sam laughed, impressed with her knowledge.  

 

“My grandfather was a history buff, I’ve picked up some strange useless knowledge along the way,” Beth replied and put the phone on speaker as she set it down on the seat between her and Dean. She glanced over at the brother behind the wheel then out at the road.  “I don’t think the flash was just coincidence, I think we have a little help here.”

_ “From my dreams?” _  Sam questioned and she could almost see the half-grin on his face.

“Well, think of it this way, why else would you see that particular gun in your dreams, it’s not like you happened to be back in the war of 1812.”

“Are you sure Bobby’s place will have it?”  Dean asked as he shot her a few quick glances before turning back to the road.

“Oh I’m sure,” she whispered and picked the phone up.  “Listen, Sam, keep the Sheriffs busy, and make sure the girls do what I said, don’t asked them, just tell them.”

_ “Beth,” _ Sam whispered and she shut off the speaker putting the phone to her ear.

“Yeah, Sam, I know.”  With a sigh, she listened to the phone disconnect and slid it slowly back in her pocket.

Dean’s lips thinned as he glanced over at her from the corners of his eyes, trying to keep his vision on the traffic ahead of him. Something was on her mind but she wasn’t sharing it willingly and that seemed to bother him.

“You okay, Kid?”  His voice shook her from her own thoughts and she peeked over at him through the hair that fell in her face.

“Yeah, peachy.”  She smiled and put her elbow on the door, pushing that hair back.  “What do you think of going home after this? Just for a little while?”  

“As in New York?”  

“I need to check on the house, Becca…Cas,” she looked over at him as she spoke the angel’s name.  “I know hunters, Dean, we’re always on the move but something just feels like we need to be there.”

“I guess we could head home after this, we’ve been here a week,” Dean shrugged.  She had a feeling he wouldn’t say no when she mentioned his friend. “So what’s eating you?”

“Would you believe it’s just the case?”  She shook her head as she bit on her lip.  “Actually, this one and the last. I mean, come on, both of them brought us here to Jody, both have Bobby’s involved and both are twists from Greek Mythology about things we know.”

“So, you said most legends have an original story, ours just happens to be Greek Gods,” Dean added and watched as she grabbed her dad’s journal from the glove compartment.  “Whatcha looking for?”

“Something about the Lycanthropes.”  Beth whispered as she flipped through the pages and stopped for a second before going back.  “Here it is.”

Dean took a peek at the drawing on the paper.  “What is that?”

“The pistol from Sam’s dreams,” she ran her fingers over the hand drawn sketch of the wooden gun.  “Dad found it once, gave it to Bobby and it was locked away forever,” Beth smiled, “I guess forever is a pretty short time.”

“So what’s so special about the pistol?” Dean asked as they pulled up to a storage unit and Beth unbuckled. 

He took his hands off the wheel as she leaned across him and out the window to push the code into the pad.  Dean couldn’t help but look at the bare skin that showed when her shirt went up and was just about to touch her when she sat back.  Beth grinned at him as he pulled through the gate, obviously flustered and watched for her directions. 

“Take the third row, go down to 912.”  Beth whispered and watched as Dean made sure the car would make it passed the buildings.  

“Tight squeeze, don’t you think?”  He questioned as he stopped just before the door.

“Hey, Bobby picked it, I didn’t.”  She laughed and climbed out the window so that she didn’t chance opening her door. Dean rolled his eyes, what’s another few fingerprints on the roof?  He was able to squeeze out the door himself and walked up behind her as she grabbed the strangest looking lock he had ever seen. Beth smiled and let him have a look.  “Voice code activated lock. I changed it not long ago.”

“And if we hadn’t found you, who would we have known what to use for a code?”  Dean asked curiously. Beth turned it over, giving him a peek at the two letters that were taped to the back. “CB?”

“Bobby’s call sign,” she replied and talked into the box, “K C 5 Fox Delta Oscar.”

Dean’s heart raced at the sound of those words and he reached out, gently touching Beth’s hair.  She stood straight and looked back at his green eyes when he heard the lock click open. She slipped the lock off and let Dean pulled the door opened.  It was big enough to fit a small car, but filled enough that the only spaces to walk were about a foot wide and they made a trail into the dark depths of the container.  Dean flicked on the flashlight and held it above Beth’s head to light her way, but she seemed to know just where she was going.

Not more than five feet in, she grabbed a locker and he watched as she spun the dial before the latches clicked, another code he had seen before but he wasn’t sure where, but that was forgotten when she opened the lid, showing him the mint condition pistol.

Dean whistled as she ran her fingers along it, which was when he noticed the sigils, writing really, and he followed her fingers along it.  She could see the confusion on his face as he slipped his fingers under it and lifted it from the case.

“Greek lettering,” Beth smiled and pulled the foam from the container showing him the stock of silver bullets that sat underneath.  “Apparently they had a Lycanthrope issue back in the day. Bobby said he never did find out who made it but the wording is perfect and it stops anything in its tracks.”

“He was a good one for finding the odd stuff,” Dean slipped the gun back in and watched her latch it shut.  He surveyed the rest of the items in the room for a moment before the two of them headed out the door. “So, this is a werewolf killer, now all we need to do is find the monsters to shoot it with.”

“That can wait until nightfall.”  Beth climbed back in the car, turned in her seat and looked Dean directly in the eyes.  “When this is over, no motel stays, just straight home.” Dean stopped the car at the sign and looked at her with worry. “Please?”

“Okay,” he answered and pulled out into traffic.

 

Sam paced the back porch, tapping his cellphone against his hand as the day grew shorter.  He wanted to call and make sure Beth was alright, but he could feel that, and he wanted to hear her voice, but he could do that too.  His mind flashed back to the wolf and what Beth had mentioned earlier, human-like emotions, which was what he had seen in them too before it tried to bite his head off.

He watched as Claire and Alex ran towards the door, listened to the sound of the car horn out front and he waved as Claire turned to look at him. She flashed the small pocket knife that stuck out from her coat, which made him smile and then took off out the door.  Sam’s phone flashed a text message from Dean’s cell and he smiled. They were on their way.

 

Claire watched as the sun started to set but Josh and Trevor kept driving into the darkness, headed out towards the town line.  She could only remember what Beth had told her, to stay away from the barn, but it was as if they were bringing her right to it.  Alex looked over at her and shook her head, even she knew this was a bad idea.

The car stopped beside three others and the girls could hear the music from inside.  Maybe Beth was wrong, maybe there wasn’t anything dangerous about this place. Claire and Alex stood beside the car as the boys started to head in.  With a glance at each other, they followed them into the wild party that seemed to be getting louder.

They walked into the back of the barn, where Josh and Trevor stood, and looked at the group of teenagers that danced around to the blaring music that filled the space.  The girls exchanged glances and Alex smiled, maybe Beth was wrong, maybe there wasn’t anything going on here but a party. Trevor grabbed Alex by the hand and led her into the middle of the crowd but Claire couldn’t help shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

 

The car pulled in and Beth got out only to be greeted by Sam, who wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground.  Dean rolled his eyes as he closed the door and leaned on the roof, watching his brother’s loving look as Sam ran his hand over her cheek. It wasn’t until Jody and Donna walked out to join them that Sam backed away and looked over at Dean, who gave him a cocky smile.

“Dude, you two seriously need some alone time!” Sam gave him a look, just a look, not one of any importance or meaning but it made Dean laugh.

“So what did we get?”  Jody asked and watched as Beth pulled out the Cavalry Pistol.  

Sam took it gently in his hands and looked over the lettering that covered the wooden handle of the pistol.  He admired the flowing designs and raised it up to look down the sight, even with as old as it was, it was balanced and straight. He glanced down at the rest of the container, and whistled at the amount of bullets.

“Looks like it’s had some modifications done,” Sam spoke up as he looked at the small opening at the top.

“Almost like a shotgun, two bullets, no powder needed,” Beth grinned.  “Guess they knew how to make them when they needed to take care of something…not natural.”  It was then that she noticed the silence. “Where are the girls?”

“They went to a party,” Donna smiled, “I guess they were having something just outside of town to celebrate the win at the football game.”

“Not at the barn outside of town?”  Dean questioned, and watched as Donna smiled.

“We have to go,” Beth snapped as she looked at Jody, “we have to go now!”

Sam got in the front seat of Jody’s truck as Dean started up the car, the four of them raced out of the driveway and down towards the crime scene they had been at earlier that morning.  Sam’s cell rang and he fumbled to get it out of his pocket before he placed it to his ear, automatically accepting the call.

_ “We’re going in from the south side,” _ Beth spoke up.

“We’ll take the east, there isn’t another clear way in.”  Sam looked out at the black car in front of them. “Are you packing?”

_ “You know I am, Sam,” _ she laughed. 

“Be safe,” he whispered.

_ “Be smart,” _ she countered and he hung up the phone.

Jody took a moment to take in the worry on his face.  He wasn’t used to not being with her on this type of hunt, at least not being close enough, but he understood the reason for splitting up.  

Both of them stepped out, guns drawn as they entered the woods once the truck was tucked in far enough away from the road that it wouldn’t be noticed right away, and they made their way towards the east side of the field.  Sam’s gut twisted into knots the closer he got, but he tried to hold it at bay as he reached out for Beth with his senses.

 

Dean watched as she tucked a handful of the pistol’s bullets into her pockets and then the gun disappeared behind her back, as she pulled out the Colt.  He thought he was just feeling Sam’s anxiousness because he was on edge this entire trip. Something about it stirred the protective nature that he felt up to the next level and he didn’t like it.

They weren’t in more than a few hundred yards when Beth could hear the calls of the wolves behind her.  She glanced at Dean, who was now looking at her for directions and together they continued through the thickly wooded area.

 

Sam ducked quietly between the trees, his eyes half on Jody, half on the surrounding area, just waiting for something to jump out.  It was when he heard the calls to the south and Jody stopped to glance back at him. Sam nodded, time to move a little faster, and the two of them shifted, closing the gap between them.

 

Claire turned at the sound of the howls over the music. Maybe Beth had been right, this wasn’t a good idea, but it was too late to change her mind now.  The people in the building scattered but as she moved to find Alex, she felt the sharp pain of the wood as it hit the back of her head, and the darkness took over.

 

They attacked without warning in complete silence, knocking Dean down before Beth could react as he pushed her out of the way and he held in a scream as claws dug down into the flesh of his calf.  Beth, sitting flat on her bottom, fired off the Colt above Dean’s head, hitting the large, full-bodied animals, sending two of them scampering off before they could turn human. 

Beth pulled off her belt and looked down at Dean, who was putting pressure on the wound.  She tied the belt around his upper calf and pulled it tightly. Just as she went to grab him from behind, to move him, they both heard the sound of people screaming.

“The girls went to the barn!” Dean stated and felt Beth grab ahold of his jacket, giving him a yank back as he pushed up with his good leg.  She managed to prop him up against a broken down shack, one that was rotting away and then squatted down in front of him. “You need to help them.”

“Dean, I’m not leaving you!”

“You have to save the girls, Beth,” he whispered at her and both of them looked at his leg.  “I’m not going to do anyone any good, so you have to go.” She took two clips out of her jacket and pressed them into his hands.  “Go!”

“I swear to God, Winchester, if you die before I get back, I will kill you!” 

Dean smiled as she kissed him quickly and then disappeared into the darkness.  Dean drew in a deep breath and waited for the animals to return.

 

Jody never saw it coming, and neither did Sam.  There weren’t many of them but they moved like they were walking on air.  Sam caught the glimmer of the moon off the silverback of the large wolf just before it jumped her, sending her careening down the slope towards the darkness below.  Sam fired off a warning shot, but there was no way he was hitting the target, not with how fast they moved.

He ran to the edge of the knoll and looked down, grabbing the small flashlight from his pocket.  He scanned the area with as much light at the pocket-sized light could reach and slowly made his way down to the bottom.  

He never heard Jody hit, there wasn’t even the sound of her body hitting the ground, but the drag marks that disturbed the moist leaves left a trail straight towards the barn.  Sam started off in that direction, hoping the wolves hadn’t gotten far pulling a body behind them but they were larger than any were-creature he had ever come in contact with so anything was possible.

It was then, as he kept the woods to both his left and right in his sights that he heard Dean scream and the shots fire off.  His heart jumped when two more shots were fired from the same direction. Confused by what he should do, he hesitated only a moment before he turned and made his way up the other side of the knoll towards the sounds of the repeat fire.

 

Claire watched as they transformed.  She never thought she would see anything like it again, until one of them became Josh. Her heart started to race when he and Trevor pulled Jody in by the arms.  The only family she felt safe with was now sitting, or lying, tied up in a barn with a bunch of shifting men, all out for one thing. Beth. 

She had heard the one in front of her say Beth’s name, call her the “North Wind”, the alpha of her pack, and she had no idea what any of it meant but she knew one thing.  If Beth, Sam and Dean knew where she and Alex had gone, they wouldn’t be far behind, she just had to get the ropes off. Slowly, she slid the pocketknife out and dropped it onto the ground behind her.  She pressed the button, releasing the blade but she did so in a way that it would bury itself into the soft ground, masking the noise of the spring letting loose. 

Claire watched as no one batted an eye in her direction and she slowly raised the blade to her restraints.  Alex whimpered in pain as she came too but Claire immediately shushed her, calming the other girl down was the least of their problems, but she also knew that it would create more if Alex panicked.  

With a slow, careful motion, she sliced into the rope, pushing and pulling the blade gently across, hoping it would give way faster than her heart might.

 

Sam ran as fast as he could through the woods, there wasn’t much he could see with the moon only half full but he could hear the shots from Dean’s gun and that was the direction he was heading.  One gun though, the sound was only coming from one gun. Sam crashed through the trees, slid down the leaf-covered embankment and found his footing in the stream just before another three rounds were shot off.  The rain from earlier in the day made everything slick and as the sounds of the gun drew closer, Sam found himself slipping through the mud.

Another shot rang through the air.  Sam was close enough to almost feel Dean from where he stood.  The tree branches scrapped across his face as he made his way passed them, feeling the sting of their sharp razors as they scratched along the way.

“Dean!”  Sam hollered out, wanting an answer, needing one, but nothing came, nothing but another shot into the air.

 

Dean found himself backed against the shed, one falling down around him as he fired off into the woods.  He knew that they could have been anywhere, the trees blocked out the moon making the shadows even darker than they would have normally been.  He didn’t have a light, even his zippo had been lost somewhere along the line but he fired into the night, or whenever he saw the eyes approaching but he was running low on ammo.

He heard his brother call out, but to respond would have just sent the wolves after him instead, so Dean decided there was no way that was going to happen.  He let off one more shot, directly into the air, the answer that Sam needed to find him, and then his strength gave out and he lowered the gun onto his lap.

He had no idea where Beth was and he wanted to kick himself for losing her but the fact that she had propped him up against the shed and tied off his leg before she disappeared into the night made him feel a little better.  She had left on her own, pistol in hand. The trees snapped around him and he raised the gun once again in the direction of the sound but when Sam came crashing through the trees he lowered it, smiling like an idiot.

“Sammy! I thought you were a dog!”  Dean laughed as Sam crouched down beside him.

“Yeah,” Sam snickered and helped him sit up more, “I always knew you were one.” He looked down at the wound on Dean’s leg. “Bite?”

“No, just a really big claw.”  Dean listened to him sigh in relief.  “Beth went after them, the girls. She said she could hear them.”

“Little pain in my ass!”  Sam muttered as he checked on the tourniquet that she managed to get around the deep wound in Dean’s leg.  “It doesn’t look like it hit anything major.”

“Just have to get to the car, or the barn, whichever is closer.”

“Car first, you can’t go tripping around the woods like this.”  Sam ordered, but he glanced back towards the darkness. He could feel Beth, knew she was at fine for the moment but he had to get back to her as fast as possible.  With one arm wrapped around Dean, he helped the man to his feet and they began the trek back through the thick woods.

 

Beth ducked into the barn. She was able to move in and out of the shadows without much of an issue before she came close enough to the lights that brightened the back part of the hall.  She could see Alex and Clair, both tied to the post, but by the way Claire was moving, those ties wouldn’t last very long. She could also see Jody, lying unconscious by a stack of hay. Her best bet was to get in and get the girls free, at least she knew that Claire would be able to help in some way, and that Alex would be motivated to get Jody out before anything else happened.

With the pistol in one hand and her colt in the other, she made her way around so that she could get a better view of Claire.  The girl had finally gotten untied and was about to use the knife on Alex but she glanced up and caught Beth’s eye. Claire looked around and held up four fingers behind her back, giving Beth the exact number of people in the room.  Beth nodded and motioned for her to cut the ropes quickly and then stepped out in front of the girls. 

The man in the middle never bothered to move as the other three came at her.  With little to no effort she fired off the Colt in her hand. Silver bullets raced at them, puncturing them between the eyes and she stopped as Claire stood up beside her.  Beth pulled the blade from her belt and handed it to the girl.

“Swing hard and fast, they aren’t going to die in wolf form but they can still get hurt.”  She watched as Claire looked over at Jody. “She’s your mother now, but you’re in charge, get her the hell out of here.”

Claire hesitated a moment, took the blade and Beth watched as both Alex and Claire each grabbed ahold of the unconscious woman and started pulling her towards the door.  She knew that Josh’s car was still outside because “Josh” was lying on the floor with a bullet lodged in his skull. 

Beth’s eyes were locked on the man sitting casually on the bale of hay.  He hadn’t moved, didn’t even jump when the gun went off, he just looked at her as if she were a fly on the wall.  He was young, no more than twenty-five at the most and his eyes had the same likeness as the wolf.

“You’re the Alpha, aren’t you?”  Beth tucked the Colt behind her back and pointed the pistol at him.  She cocked back the hammer and watched him smile.

“I was looking for you.” He grinned like a little cat.  “Invading your dreams, we can do that you know, Greek Gods.”

“You’re Priam, the second Lycaon.”  Beth guessed and watched the corner of his mouth go up, impressed with her knowledge.  “Why are you here? Why make such a mess just to get to a few people?”

“People, is that all you think you are?  You and those men you call your protectors?”  Priam laughed like he had just heard the best joke in the world.  “You don’t realize what you’ve done.”

“What we’ve done?”  Beth was completely confused.  “What the hell have we done to piss off the Olympians?”

“You live.   _ They _ live!”  He growled and stood.  “The Gods are the only beings meant to be immortal but the Winchesters defy death, they keep coming back from it.  You…you are protected from it, a demigod in a mortal’s body, given the gift of healing.”

“Not our choice.”  

“Yet you still go against everything we are meant to be and this last little episode has become the final straw.”  Beth looked at him confused before shaking her head.

“Which episode, there have been multiple ones so far?”

“The mother has returned, against everything that we hold Godly!”  Priam’s voice took on a very pissed off tone but Beth stood her ground.

“Mother?”  She questioned, but shook her head.

“Your Christian Gods felt it a kind gesture to bring back Mary Winchester from the dead, something no one should be able to do, especially after so many years, but here she is!”  It was starting to make sense.

“So someone is ticked off because the boys got their mother back?”  Beth shook her head as she smiled. “What petty little God dreamt up that stupid spell to bring the Olympians down on one woman?”

“Someone that has hated the Winchesters and the Petersons from the beginning,” he grinned.

“That could be anyone.  Our families have been around for a long, long time.”  She needed more information, more clues to where she needed to go next, and since he was talking, Beth was going to keep questioning.  “ _ WHO _ is it?”

“It would be simple enough to look back and see who might want you gone, who sees you as a threat, and who might be powerful enough to bring down the wrath of Gods.”  Priam stepped closer. Beth raised the gun and waited. “But first, know this North Wind, the next target down the line is that last soul that was released against the wishes of the old Gods.”

“Mary,” she whispered, glancing behind the Lycan before her.  

She watched as Sam stood there, blade in hand as he heard his mother’s name.  She could see the anger fill in his eyes, his lips purse in pure hatred and just as Priam moved to attack, Beth fired off the pistol.

The silver bullet hit his heart and Priam laughed.  “Silver won’t hurt me, Alpha.”

“No, but he might,” Beth grinned as Sam took that final step and swung. The blade went silently through the flesh of the man, with one swing and Beth watched as the body before her sunk to the ground.  Her smile faded as she stared up at Sam, the blood dripping from the blade that he lowered in his hand. “We have to find your mother.”

“Dean’s pretty roughed up,” Sam replied as she stepped over the bodies on the floor.  “First things first though.”

“Salt and burn?” She raised an eyebrow and watched him nod. Just as they turned to look, Priam burst into a bright white light.  “Let’s bring this place down.”

It didn’t take long to get the building, or the bodies to go up in smoke.  All the dry hay helped with the spread and as they made their way back to the tree line, Sam took Beth by the arm, stopping her from entering the darkness.

“He called you the Alpha, why?”  Beth glanced back at the barn and shrugged.  

“There are so many things about this whole adventure that I have no idea about, and that just adds another “what the hell” to the pile.”  She took his hand and held it tightly. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”

 

They paced the waiting room of the local hospital, alternating which one would stare down the hallway and which would sit with their legs bouncing impatiently.  Dean was pretty well sedated, and the wound was being stitched up but even that small procedure was grinding on Sam’s nerves. He hadn’t made it through the woods in time to help his brother and he had barely made it to Beth before the Were struck but he didn’t see the fact that he helped either of them as a triumph, just his failures.

Beth thought back on the words.  She needed to find Mary Winchester, and she needed to find her quickly. Something about the Alpha had said really struck a nerve.  Who’s hated the families from the beginning and the fact that they have all faced death and won? With a sigh, Beth looked up as Claire, Alex, Jody, and Donna made their way down the hallway.  She stood and watched as Claire ran up, hugging her tightly, which gave Beth a little bit to smile about but it was the look on Jody’s face that turned her sour again.

“You gave a blade to my girls,” Jody spoke softly, but it was loud enough to get Sam’s attention as he turned from where he stood by the doors, arms crossed and made his way over.  “They could have been killed.”

“She saved your life,” Sam spoke up, standing directly behind Beth.

“I understand that,” Jody replied, adjusting herself on the crutch, and she looked over at the blue-eyed woman, “and I’m grateful, but these girls don’t need to be hunters.”

“No, they just needed to know that they could save their mother’s life.”  Beth answered and watched the shock spread across Jody’s face. “It’s all any of us need.”

Beth turned, made her way towards the door and stood there as Sam and the others sat down in silence, waiting to hear any word.  Beth closed her eyes and sent her thoughts out to the man beyond the doors. She was surprised to hear the humming that came back at her, and see the odd scenes that played in his mind.

“They must have you on some good stuff.” Beth smiled and felt the familiar tickle of Dean’s thoughts.

_ “Oh you have no idea.” _  Dean’s giggle came through. Yep, he was flying pretty high at that moment.

“How’s the leg?”

_ “If I could move from this spot, I would tell you but…” _

“It’s okay, it’s just good to hear you.”

_ “I love you, Kid.” _  Beth shook her head as she stared through the doors. Although she felt his every emotion there was just something cute about the way that he said it when he was higher than a kite.

“I love you too, Dean.” She replied, breaking the connection so he could concentrate on getting better.

When she turned to look at Sam all of the emotions of the evening came crashing at her and she could feel the color drain from her face.  Sam’s arms were quickly around her, holding her up as she felt her legs grow week.

Sam whispered to her, words that feel on deaf ears as she lost all concentration of what was going on around her and he pulled her into his lap as he sat down in one of the cushioned chairs.  It felt like hours before he let her go enough that she could look into his eyes, even then they sparkled with a love that she felt she didn’t deserve.

“He’ll be fine,” Sam whispered, as he pressed his lips against her forehead, “we’ll be fine.”

 

Dean blinked several times, clearing the fog from his head, and the blurriness from his vision as he tried to get his barring in the quiet hospital room. He could make out the fuzzy form of his brother stretched out on the chair beside his bed, legs crossed at the ankles and his hands folded on his stomach.  Sam’s eyes were closed but his face was rosy, something that usually happened when he stayed up too long and Dean wondered just how long he had been out for.

The other form in the room wouldn’t stay put, pacing the length of the windows that kept his room private.  Her hair was back in a ponytail, but it swayed as she turned and moved once again, her back to him and Dean smiled as he was able to focus on the tightness of her jeans.

“I swear, even drugged, you are the biggest pervert in the world.”  Beth laughed as she turned and made her way to the bed. She watched his fingers reach out for her and she wrapped her own around his as she sat down on the bed.  Dean’s eyes slowly closed as the drugs wore on him, keeping him calm. “Hey, big man, I meant to ask you what made you think you could take on a full-grown wolf?”

“It was coming after you,” Dean’s voice was just a whisper and he smiled. 

“You two are by far the biggest pains in the asses I have ever met,” Beth sighed, “always trying to save the day.”

_ “ _ Not the day, just you,” his voice was fading in and out as she reached over and stroked his cheek.

“I don’t need to be saved, Dean,” Beth looked over at Sam, who switched the position of his feet, “by either of you.”

She felt him fade off to sleep once more and slowly she rose from the bed.  Just as she stepped back towards the windows, the cell in her pocket vibrated against her leg.  Beth pulled it out and glanced at the unknown number. With a bit of apprehension, she slid her finger across the screen and put the phone to her ear.

“Peterson,” she answered, keeping her voice low as she glanced over at the boys.

_ “Beth?” _  The woman on the other end questioned.

“Mary,” Beth listened to the way she was breathing and knew something was up.  

_ “Beth, I need your help!”  _

The line suddenly went dead.


	14. Family Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If the trio didn't have enough on their hands, enter Mary Winchester, but the new parental figure in their life isn't the only thing cramping their home life as things between the three take a strange twist in dreamland.

Family Matter… 

SPNFanfic #14

Plot Copyright 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Jody, Donna, Claire, Alex and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

The cell in her pocket vibrated against her leg.  Beth pulled it out and glanced at the unknown number. With a bit of apprehension, she slid her finger across the screen and put the phone to her ear.

“Peterson,” she answered, keeping her voice low as she glanced over at the boys.

_ “Beth?” _  The woman on the other end questioned.

“Mary,” Beth listened to the way she was breathing and knew something was up.  

_ “Beth, I need your help!”  _

The line suddenly went dead.  

Beth looked down at the phone, there was no way to call her back, no way to check in on her.  Beth glanced over at the boys, both asleep, and slipped out into the hallway. She ducked into a small hallway, one where no one would care about a woman who stood with her eyes closed and here head against the wall.

“Castiel,” she whispered, opening one eye to look around, “Castiel, please, this is important.” The phone in her hand vibrated and she looked down at the number, rolling her eyes.  She swiped and placed it to her ear. “Cas?”

_ “You were praying.” _  He answered her.

“I need your ass here, not on a phone.”  Beth snapped, closing her eyes in frustration but the gust of his wings made her eyes open to stare into his blue ones. She stashed the phone in her pocket, grabbed both fistfuls of Cas’s shirt and pushed him up against the wall.  Her eyes wide with panic. “Take me to Mary Winchester!”

“Are you sure that’s safe?”  Cas questioned, placing his hands on hers. 

“Screw safe! Find her, Castiel and take me to her.”  With the sound of the air whooshing around her, Beth suddenly found herself standing in the driveway of a darkened house.

“She’s in there, but Beth, it’s not safe.”  She backed away, releasing his shirt as she headed towards the house but Cas, in a very unlike Castiel fashion took hold of her hand and stopped her once again.  “You could get killed in there.”

“Mary called me, Cas, which means she needs help and those two boys will kill me if anything happens to her that I could have stopped.”  Beth pulled out of his grip and the two of them made their way in through the opened garage door. 

She slipped the Colt from the back of her jeans and clicked off the safety as Cas followed close behind.  In the darkness of the house, she heard nothing but silence, an eerie silence that almost made your ears buzz.  After clearing the kitchen, she followed around to the hallway, checking up the stairs and down to the corner of the living room.  There was no one, not on this floor, at least she thought until she rounded the frame of the dining room and came face to face with the business end of a shotgun.

“Mary?”  Beth asked, catching her breath as she raised her hands.  

“Who the hell are you and how did you get in my house?” 

“My name is Elizabeth Peterson, you called my cell.”  Beth really wished she would put the gun down, or lower it from the spot between her eyes.  Castiel stepped up behind her and rested a hand on Beth’s shoulder. “I assume you know Cas?”

“Where are my sons?”  The mother questioned angrily.

“They couldn’t come, and there isn’t any time to explain,” Beth lowered her hands, looking at the woman with the long blond hair, she could definitely see where Sam got his good looks from.  “Cas and I came to help.”

“Unless you know what we’re up against, there isn’t much help with this.”  Mary whispered, lowering the gun as she spied around in the darkness.

“What is it?”  Cas questioned.

“Nothing I have ever seen before.” Mary took point as Cas and Beth took up the back, making their way up the stairs to the second floor of the house. 

Beth strained to listen for anything out of the ordinary and as they topped the flight into the hallway, she could hear the scratching of claws on wood.  Mary headed towards the back bedroom, where she had last seen the creature but as Beth turned to make sure their back was covered, she noticed something coming at them from the other end of the room.

“What the hell is that?”  Beth yelled as she opened fire on the monster.  It looked like it had eight legs, all with monster claws on the ends that dug into the sheetrock, and when it screamed, she watched the jaws of giant spider open up ahead of her.

Mary set the shotgun off, dumping two rounds of salt into it without it even flinching and all three ducked into the room closing the door tightly behind them.

“Let me take you out of here,” Cas requested holding out his hand, but both woman, who shared a glance shook their heads. 

“It needs to be dead before we leave.”  Mary spoke up.

“I think I know what it is,” Beth replied and watched the shock on the woman’s face.  

“So far nothing I’ve thrown at it has touched it, but you think you know what it is?”  She looked at Beth in disbelief. 

Beth nodded and looked around the loaded room.  She was looking for something specific and since the room, probably all of the rooms in the house was stocked with weapons, she was pretty sure she could find what she was looking for.

“Arachne is…was a Lydian woman who could weave anything, and of course, she pissed off the wrong Goddess.”  Beth shook her head, as she finally found the thing she was looking for, a machete that was tucked into the corner.  “Nothing would harm it except for its own web, and since we don’t have any of that, the next best thing is to cut off its head.”

“So nothing kills it?”  Mary questioned. 

Beth shook her head.  “They boys took on one some years back, even shot the victims in the head, they all came back, only one guarantee, remove the head from the body.”

“The boys fought this thing?” Mary still seemed shocked at what her sons could do but Cas gave a slight smile.  

“Yeah but the ones they dealt with weren’t this ugly, or true to form.  This is definitely a Greek version which means that it would be vulnerable to the olive bullets as well.”  Beth mumbled to herself and checked the magazine in her Colt, two left, one in the chamber. Perfect. She handed Mary the gun.  “You have three shots to slow it down, or two shots and one for me if I should get bitten. These are special bullets, made just for Greek baddies.”  Mary took the gun as Beth unsheathed the blade. “Aim straight, fire at will.”

“Wait,” Cas grabbed her arm, and Beth couldn’t help but feel the strange familiarity in his voice.  She knew it was Cas, but there was more to him at that moment. 

“Are you channeling him?”  Beth questioned and watched as Cas nodded.  “Dude, get your brain out of my boyfriend.”

“Sam says to make sure there are no victims after, the house has to come down.”  Mary looked back and forth between them.

“Cas, let Sam go,” she ordered and watched the expression fade from Cas’ face when he released her arm.  With the end of the blade she tapped his chest. “Stop letting Becca teach you new tricks, you’re going to get someone killed.”

Beth rolled her eyes as she opened the door and waited.  She stood against one side of the doorsill and Mary stood on the other, watching for the beast to come at them.  With a nod, Beth turned and faced the hallway. Mary watched as it noticed her and started coming straight at her.  Beth ducked down toward the floor, waiting for it to come close enough and listened as Mary fired off two shots from above her head. 

It slowed it down but it was the nauseating sound of the blade going upwards and into the head of the creature that caught the older woman off guard. Mary watched as Beth punched the blade up and through, before pulling towards the wall, disconnecting the head from the body until it hung there by a thread, something Beth took care of without a second thought.  Beth walked back over and took the Colt from Mary, winking as she fired the last shot into the head of the beast.

“Cover your eyes.”  Beth warned and Mary ducked just as the giant spider burst into a blinding white light.  When Mary looked at her, Beth was shaking the blood from her hands. “Cas, go check around for any victims, if this thing was in the house, they might be too.”  Castiel nodded and walked off down the hall as Beth peered up at her. “Bathroom? Possibly a quick shower?”

“Yeah, right this way.”  Mary walked with her down the hall to the large room and watched as Beth undressed without any pause, stepping into the steam of the shower she had turned on moments ago.  “I’ll grab you some clothes.”

“Thanks,” Beth smiled and was shocked to see Mary standing there only minutes later with a towel, and some neatly folded clothing.  “I’m sorry if I shocked you when I came in, I just couldn’t call you back, there wasn’t a phone number.” 

Mary had turned her back, but never changed the distance between her and the young woman.  “I called Sam’s phone and he said if it was an emergency to call you.”

“Yeah, I forgot he changed that message.”  Beth laughed as she pulled the shirt down. Cas came around the corner, completely indifferent to the half-naked woman in the bathroom.  “What do you got, Cas?”

“No victims, at least not here.  The house is clean.” His eyes suddenly shied away.  “Is this one of those “we’re family, and it’s not inappropriate” moments?”

“It’s not going to cause an issue between you and them or me and them, Cas,” Beth laughed as she buttoned her jeans.  “Dean watches me change all the time.” With a pat to his shoulder, she slipped passed a totally confused Mary. “Unfortunately, Sam was right, we need to burn it to the ground.”

“You want to set my house on fire?”  Mary asked as they made their way to the first floor, Beth in the lead and barefoot but she stopped just in the doorway of the dining room.  

“Just because there isn’t any victims, doesn’t mean there isn’t any egg sacks in the walls, basement or attic.   They’re very combustible and would be taken care of with fire,” Beth wasn’t trying to sound rude, she was just stating the facts.  “Taking down the house is our best bet to make sure there isn’t anything crawling through the walls in two weeks.”

“My homeowners insurance is going to skyrocket.”  Mary whispered, shaking her head. Beth knew how she felt.

“Listen, Cas can make it look like a gas leak, an electrical fire, anything to get the blaze going.  You’ll be able to get another one.” Beth knew for certain that there wasn’t really anything of value in the house, that Mary still had everything stashed away in storage.  “We need to talk anyway.”

“About what?”  Mary questioned, not wanting to be ordered around by a woman who was strangely about the same age as she was, which made it all too weird.  

“Let’s just go, we can discuss it when you’re settled.”  Beth looked up at Cas, who placed a hand on both their shoulders and suddenly they were standing in the hospital hallway.  Beth took Cas by the hand before he disappeared. “I’m sorry I was harsh.”

“I just wish I could have helped more.”

“Take care of the house and come back,” Beth spoke softly as Mary disappeared, “and make sure Becca knows you might be getting a house guest.”

“I will,” and with that, he was gone.

Beth turned to Mary, completely aware of the cold tile below her feet and led the way to the room where Sam was now sitting up, watching Dean.  He stood as Beth came in the room, his mother following close behind and watched with curiosity as Beth snatched the extra pair of non-slip socks from Dean’s bedside table. He hugged his mother tightly, the look of confusion never leaving his face as Beth hopped around putting on the bright yellow socks.

“How did you get into Cas’ head?”  Beth asked at the same time that Sam spoke.

“Why did you bring my mother here?”  The two of them look at each other for a moment before smiling and Sam wrapped his arms around Beth, kissing her softly on the lips.  “I was looking for you, but connected with Cas instead, let me tell you the mind of an angel is no party.”

“Yeah, is it full of Dean and his BS?” Beth laughed, letting go of Sam, walked over and kissed the sleeping man on the forehead.

“Actually, it was more filled with things about Becca,” Sam grinned which made Beth look at him, smiling.

“Your mom called,” Beth answered his question.

“I’m still here,” Mary joined in, having watched the strange interaction between them.  “What the hell is going on here?” Sam took a deep breath, cleared his throat and offered Mary a seat, one that she took hesitantly.  “Why call Beth and not Dean?”

“Well, usually because Beth is with Dean when I’m not able to answer the phone and Dean doesn’t answer unless he knows who it is.”  Sam shrugged.

Mary turned to Beth who was sitting on the bed, holding Dean’s hand.  “Why, if Sam is your boyfriend, does Dean see you naked?”

Beth thought about it for a moment, her lips moving as if she had an answer to it but her eyes settled on Sam’s, and her voice wasn’t nearly as defiant as she wanted it to be when the words came out. “It’s complicated?” 

“What can be more complicated than being hundreds of miles away from home because an  _ Angel _ whisked you away?”  Mary questioned, giving Sam the stink eye.  Sam shifted uneasily in his spot. Beth stepped away from Dean, her hands raised.  

“When Cas gets back, he can heal Dean’s leg and we can get out of here.  It would be easier to explain everything if we’re not stuck in a tiny cubicle with nowhere to go.”  Beth suggested and watched as Mary, always the mother, give her a look that made her question her own statement. Beth was not comfortable with it at all.  “Of course, I wonder if Cas could keep the morphine drip going, I kind of like the strong silent type.”

Sam laughed, “Beth, now is not the time.”

_ “Bite me, Peterson,”  _ was the response that both of them heard clearly from the mind of the man on the bed.

“When you’re up and running, I might take you up on that,” she answered, which received a very peculiar look from Mary.

Mary watched as Beth went back over to the bed, sitting down where she could put Dean’s hand on her lap.  The affection the girl held for both her sons was quite alarming. In silence, Beth stared down at Dean, but the smile never left her face, and Sam was rolling his eyes, like it was a conversation only they could hear.

Castiel was actually the icebreaker when he suddenly appeared standing next to Sam.  Mary jumped back a bit, taken by the surprise appearance and watched as he held out a picture frame.  With shaking hands, more from emotion than anything, Mary took the picture, the only picture she had of the four of them together.

“I was able to save more, but this is the last thing I managed to grab.”  Cas stated, and watched the tears in her eyes before he turned to Beth. “It’s done.  What’s next?”

“Come over here and heal the whiny one,” Beth answered and looked down at the hand she held.  Cas stepped closer, placing his hand on Dean’s forehead and closed his eyes just for a moment before Dean’s were wide open.  Beth leaned in close to the green-eyed man. “You’re lucky you’re still in the hospital, Winchester,” her eyes narrowed, “some of those things you said could seriously get you in trouble, or worse, back in this bed.”

Dean kissed her fingers and released her hand as she got up from the bed.  Dean looked over at Mary, still taken aback every time she stood in the room and watched as his mother walked over.

“Hey Mom,” he whispered and Mary smoothed the hair on his head.  “What happened?”

“Hi Sweetheart,” Dean’s breath caught as she said those words to him, in the same voice he had remembered from when he was four.  “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Lycanthropes,” Sam answered and sat on the other side of his brother, pulling up a chair.  “The cast will hide the fact that Cas healed him but we’ve gotta get out of here.”

“But, why bring Mom here?”  Dean turned to face Sam, who gave a slight shake of his head and a shrug before they both turned to Beth, who was talking quietly to Castiel with a stern look on her face.  They seemed engrossed in a conversation that no amount of questions would break so the boys turned their eyes to Mary.

“Spiders,” Mary shrugged, “um, Arachne from what Beth said.”

“We took care of those before,” Sam shrugged, “shouldn’t have been a big deal.”

“Did yours have eight legs and a mouth wide enough to swallow a Ford?”  Mary asked trying to smile but both boys shook their heads.

“Ours was human looking,” Dean stated, a little uneasy and knew it was time to break up the pow-wow in the corner.  “Hey, Short-stuff, we need you over here.” Beth glanced over, raised her hand as if to flip him off, but thought twice about it when Mary glanced at her.  She patted Cas on the chest, mouthed for him to stay put and walked over to the bed. She smiled at Dean’s raised eyebrows and the “seriously” look on his face.  “An Arachne?”

“Yeah, a full-on Greek style, bite-your-head-off Arachne, none of this pussy-footing around crap.”  Beth explained.

“And you went in there guns blazing, I assume?”  Dean seemed more upset than usual.

“Well, my backup was stuck in a drug coma because he put himself between me and a wolf, what else was I supposed to do?”  She could feel Dean’s tension growing.

“Be smart, take Sam, bring someone other than Cas,” Dean looked passed her, “no offense.”

“None taken.”  Cas added.

“Listen, Winchester…” Beth started but Sam reached out and took them both by the arms, separating them.

“Enough, we don’t have time for this,” Sam barked and watched the torrent of emotions drain from their face.  “We need to know details. Mom, when did it show up?”

“About ten minutes before I called Beth,” Mary answered, “enough time for me to figure out I had nothing that I knew of that would stop it.”  She looked at Sam and shook her head. “Your phone was off so I called her.”

“Greek mythological creatures?  You definitely called the right person.” Dean complimented but the stare between them hadn’t broken.  “Cas can take you back to the safe house in New York, we’ll grab the Impala and meet you there.”

“You want me to go with Cas?”  Mary questioned.

“I am not driving in a car with Dean by myself for twenty hours.”  Beth laughed.

“No one drives my car.”  Dean piped up.

“The way they are now, Mom, I can’t leave them in the same spot for two seconds.”  Sam answered.

“What is it with you three? You act like two old married couples with only one wife,” she watched as the three of them exchanged looks before she shook her head.  “Just get out of here as fast as you can.” Mary kissed each of the boys on the forehead and walked over to Cas, she looked up at him. “It’s not just you up there, is it?”

“No, Rebecca is waiting.  She has dinner ready and a comfortable place for you to sleep until they arrive.”  Cas responded and Sam watched the way he looked up at Beth, who just stared at him.  “Tower reception is very good, so there shouldn’t be any dropped signal.”

“Okay,” she glanced back at her sons and Beth, gave a nod and disappeared as soon as she touched Cas’ outstretched hand.

Both Dean and Sam set their sights on Beth, but Dean was the one that spoke up first.  “What the hell was that?”

“Becca,” she started, “I was telling Cas to make sure Becca didn’t do any witchy stuff while your mom was there.”  

“Good idea,” Sam nodded.

“Yeah, you don’t need Mom to go out and gank your BFF,” Dean said, his tone low and sarcastic.  

“Hey, what is your deal?”  Beth’s eyes creased.

“Wanna tell me what the hell happened in the barn?” Dean watched as Sam and Beth flashed a look before turning back to him.

“The wolf was Priam,” Beth cleared her throat, “you know, the one Achilles took care of.”

“And?” He tried to sit up as much as he could with the IV in him as he stared at Sam.

“And I was able to get a few things out of him before, well, Sam went all Red Queen on his neck,” Beth sat down on the bed, where Mary had just left but her fingers never reached out for his, even though she wanted to grab his hand.  “The Olympians are after your mother.”

“What? Why?”  

“They’re pissed,” she watched Sam cover his mouth and nose with both hands, pinching the bridge with his fingers, “they’re pissed because we’re alive, because Mary’s alive and only Gods are supposed to be immortal.”

“Because fate dealt us a crappy hand, we’re all now going to pay for it?”  Dean questioned. Beth shook her head and closed her eyes. “Get me out of here; we need to get back to New York.”

 

Sam watched as Dean hobbled to the Impala, his grin widening as he spotted his precious car.  Beth tossed the bags in the back seat and slid in, letting Sam close the door behind her. As the three of them settled in to their positions and grabbed the closest road towards home, Dean glanced in the rear view at Beth, who was lying with her headphones on and her feet tapping to the music.

“Who would have it in for us?”  Dean questioned and watched as Sam smiled.

“Who wouldn’t?” Dean acknowledged that Sam had a point.

“Then who has that much power to summon them?”

“Crowley?  Rowena?” Sam shook his head, unsure.

“It wouldn’t be either,” Beth responded and Dean raised in eyebrow.  “Before you go getting high and mighty, Dean, just listen,” she sat up, fitting herself in the spot between them as she rested her arm on the seat, “Rowena would need the power of a coven to do a summoning spell that large, especially to keep having the damn things pop up and Crowley, well, he just doesn’t have the balls.”

“Because of your special connection?”  Dean asked sarcastically.

“Because it would mean hurting you,” she answered and sat back, crossing her arms, “for some reason the poor bastard is sweet on your ass and King of Hell or not, he wouldn’t do anything to put you in the crosshairs, at least not of something you couldn’t shake off.”

“Why are you talking about my ass and Crowley in the same sentence?” Dean growled and watched as Beth grinned.  “Just don’t, okay?”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your boxers in a bunch,” she laughed.  “All I’m saying is that neither of them would have the gall, or the resources to manifest something this big.”

“Hello, Crowley, King of Hell?”  Dean barked. Sam couldn’t help but smile at the conversation, at the tone of it, while it sounded very argumentative, he could hear the playfulness in both of them. “Sam, help me out here.” But he just shook his head. “Bitch!”

“Jerk,” Sam replied and went right back to watching the road.

“Wake me when we get there.” Beth mumbled and lay back down.  

“Screw that, you’ve got the night shift, Sweetheart!”  Dean said sarcastically and watched as her arm rose, slowly, and that finger was finally able to flip him off. Dean found himself with a half grin spreading across his face.  Sam looked over at him, the look of disbelief in his eyes and Dean peeked in his direction. “What?”

“I don’t get why sometimes the two of you are ready to tear each other’s throats out and the next minute you’re like two kids.”  Sam leaned his arm on the windowsill. “I swear sometimes it’s like dealing with two siblings.”

“Oh, Sammy, there’s no way a sibling would do what that girl does to me.”  Dean laughed and watched as his brother’s face turned red. “Not that anything would ever happen.”

“I know, Dean,” Sam replied.  “Maybe a quick trip into town when you get home would help that out.”  

“Yeah,” he replied softly, his smile fading, “maybe.”

 

The road trip home was full of awkward silences, classic rock music, and banter between the brothers or Beth, whichever or whoever was awake at the time.  They had debated on whether to stop for the night but with the three of them driving in shifts, they decided against it.

It was Beth’s shift.  Dean was asleep in the backseat, his knees up and against the back, his arms crossed over his chest and as the car bobbed and weaved around the curves, so did his head.  Sam was out cold in the seat beside her, tucked up against the door, legs stretched out, and his coat wrapped around him.

Beth couldn’t help but smile.  She was finally heading home to a place she had always loved with the two men she loved more than life itself, even with as much of a pain in the ass that Dean could be. Sam stirred and sat up, stretching his arms as much as he could and turned in her direction.  

“Hey, beautiful,” he mumbled and Beth’s eyes sparkled.

“You haven’t seen you in the light of a street lamp.”  She laughed and winked at him. Sam’s expression was all she needed to keep going with the trip.  “We’re about two hours out, but I need a coffee break so I was just about to pull over.”

“I could use a stretch too,” he winked back, which was all Beth needed to see where his mind was.

“Do you think he’d wake up?” She whispered.

“Do you think you could block him?”  He leaned over, scooting towards her as he bunched her hair up in his hand and started to kiss her neck.

“You crash my car, I’ll kill your ass!”  Dean’s gruff voice startled Sam who cleared his throat and watched Dean sit up in the back seat.  “Did someone say coffee?”

Beth smiled at the both of them and found the closest gas station to pull into.  She parked the Impala along the side of the building, cutting the engine after putting it in park and gently ran her hands along the dashboard.

“Stop molesting my car!” Dean scolded as he opened the door and leaned in to smile at her.

Beth slipped out and handed him the keys.  “Five hundred miles, Dean, so the last two hours are yours.”

“Get me a coffee,” he laughed and kissed her cheek as he took the keys.  Beth waved at him as he closed the door and headed to the bathroom, “and some pie!”

Beth stopped and gave him a look as if to say “you’re on his own with that one” before she disappeared into the store.  Sam was in and out of the bathroom before Dean even made it to the corner of the building, and he gave his older brother a grin before he disappeared after Beth into the store.

When Dean returned, Sam was the only one leaning against the warm engine.  Dean looked around and raised his hands, which Sam filled with a slice of pie in one and the coffee in the other.

“How weird is it going to be for you and her with Mom in the house?”  Dean asked and Sam gave him a half smile, something between sly and not caring.

“Dean, we soundproofed the rooms weeks ago.” He stated as he took a sip of his coffee. Dean’s head whipped toward his brother and watched the corner of Sam’s lip curl up around the cup lid.

“I didn’t notice.”

“You’re connected, you wouldn’t have.”  Beth added as she walked up to them, shrugging the coat on more.  “My concern would be how are we going to explain “us” to your mother?  It didn’t really go over well with Jody and you haven’t really been in constant contact with her.”

Dean’s eyes flickered away from hers and Beth pursed her lips.  Sam turned towards Dean, who was about to make up some sort of excuse.

“She is your mother, it’s okay to call her.” Beth smiled and watched the relief in fill his eyes.  “So what does she know?”

“You and Sam are together,” he smiled down at her, “and you and I are complicated.”

“Ah,” she nodded, “that explains the reaction when I said it. Well, we might need to sit her down and let her in on the whole deal, especially if they are coming after her now.”

“I still don’t understand one thing,” Sam spoke up, “when we were in the barn, Priam called you the Alpha, why?”

“Last of my kind, I don’t know.  Maybe he was caught on the Shangri-Las song and it just got stuck in his head,” Beth shrugged, “Maybe…”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough. No sense hurting your brain over it.”  Dean kissed her on the forehead as he slipped by her and got in behind the wheel, complaining as his knees hit the dashboard.  “Son of a…”

Beth laughed as the rest was muffled under his breath.  She walked up and grabbed Sam with both fists full of shirt, pressing herself against him as he leaned on the car.  Sam put the coffee down and placed his hands on her hips.

“Wanna ride in the back seat with me?”  She winked and watched him smile.

“I’m pretty sure if I got you alone anywhere right now we would be in serious trouble.”  He whispered and kissed her pouting lips. “I can’t wait for our own room.”

“Me either, so let’s go home.”  She tugged on his arm, and laughed as he grabbed the coffee before following her into the backseat.  Dean rolled his eyes. “Sorry, PITA, I stole your shotgun.”

“No worries,” he laughed as he popped in an old Lynyard Skynyrd tape.  “Means, I get no complaints.”

He backed the Impala up and they took off down the road, finally heading home.  Sam stretched out on the backseat and pulled Beth close as he stared down into her eyes.

“Can you block Dean?”  He whispered.

“It won’t be like he couldn’t feel anything.” She laughed against him, but she had blocked Dean out as soon as she settled in.

“I just want to talk.”  She could see the spark in his eyes as she placed her head against his neck, tracing his jawline.

_ “What’s on your mind?” _

_ “Are you okay?” _

Beth pulled back a bit,  _ “I have you and your other half, what would make it so I wasn’t okay?” _

_ “I watched you with Priam.  Your eyes went ghost when you shot him.” _ Sam licked his lips and sighed.

_ “Ghost?” _  She questioned.

_ “Like you weren’t there at all, the emotion was gone and it’s not the first time.” _

Beth ran the pad of her thumb along his lower lip, feeling the shiver that passed through him.  She shrugged.  _ “It’s a coping mechanism.”  _ Although her tone wasn’t as nonchalant as she wanted it to be and she swallowed hard.   _ “I need to black it out when I do that, any time I do that.” _

“ _ I’m just worried.” _ This got a smile from her.

“ _ If you weren’t, I would be.” _  She slipped her hand behind his head, curled her fingers into his hair and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.

“Hey! Hey!”  Dean scolded and turned the music up. “It’s like being with a couple of hormonal teenagers!”

Beth broke away from Sam and smiled.  She broke the barrier and spoke out loud.  “If I bit him, do you think he’d freak out?”

“None of that now!” Dean hollered, hearing it.  Sam smiled and let his hands slip away from her.  Beth turned around in her seat, leaned over and bit Dean on the neck, while Sam rested his hands on her hips, enjoying the view.  “Eew! Damn it, Woman!”

Dean tried to deny that he enjoyed it but she could feel the emotions that flowed from him and Beth kissed him softly on the ear.

“Sammy, your girl is killing me!”  Dean moaned.

“You’re not on this end.” Sam replied and Beth turned to see him clearly checking her out.  Beth sat back against him and leaned over to kiss Sam once again. “We need to get home, like now!”

“Tell me about it, I need a cold shower.”  Dean grinned as Beth settled down against Sam.  He heard her sigh as Sam wrapped his arms around her. “And she needs some sleep.”

“We’ve got another hour.”  His younger brother replied and looked up at Dean in the rearview as Dean wiped a hand across his neck, making a disgusted face as he did so.

 

The sun was peeking up over the tree line as the Impala rumbled into the driveway.  Becca was the first one out the door as the bodies slipped out of the car. She hugged Beth tightly, almost knocking the petite woman over but Beth stood her ground.

Mary stepped out of the house and down off the porch as Dean and Sam both dropped the duffels out of the back of the trunk.  She stepped up to them, hugging each one tightly. Beth helped grabbed the bags, along with Becca and the two of them headed inside.

“So your mom-in-law,” Becca teased, “she’s pretty intense.”

“Yeah, I’m positive that’s where Dean gets it from.”  Beth smiled and glanced around, checking the condition of the furniture.  “So, where’s Cas?”

“He needed to “get away”.  I guess Mary’s questions about you set him off. He’s very defensive when it comes to you.”  Becca raised an eyebrow. “I think you have yourself a little guardian angel.”

“A big brother would be more like it.”  Beth looked at the breakfast on the stove.  It smelled great in the house. 

“When you called him, his face just dropped, like the rug was pulled out from under him.” Becca moved to the bedroom.

“I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“I know, but thanks for reminding him to let me know we had company coming.”

“Were you brewing up something?”  Beth grinned devilishly as she dropped the bags on the bed but took one of the duffels that Becca held.

“We were experimenting.” She grinned.

“With what?”  Beth stopped suddenly and watched the blush rise in her friend’s cheeks.  “Never mind, I don’t want to know!”

Beth carried the bag over her shoulder as she made her way back down the hallway and headed for the closet.

“Hey, Kid!” Dean yelled.  “Carry my stuff!” Beth turned just as he tossed a bag at her and she stepped out of the way, letting it hit the floor.

“Do I look like your slave?”  She smiled, “Ya lazy ass!”

“Me?”  He pointed at himself.  “Who slept in the back of the car most of the way home?”

“You!” she grinned as he walked over and picked up the bag, having grabbed Sam’s along the way.  “You do know there are loaded weapons in there.”

“So?”  He said, seriously, not caring as they made the descent into the bunker.

Mary looked at Sam, who was just as amused as they were of their conversation. “Are they always that way?”

Her question got a larger grin from Sam as he leaned on the counter. “More than you know.” He turned to his mother and his eyebrows perked up.  “And I hope they never change.”

“Even her affection towards him?”  Sam took a sip of his coffee and set it down.

“Especially that,” Sam felt himself getting defensive, like he had with Jody, and he took a deep breath.  “Mom, I don’t know what Dean’s told you but Beth hasn’t just been in our lives for a few months, she’s been with us for years. We’ve known her since I was five.  We thought we lost her once. Dean thought she was dead, I lost all memories of her but since it all came back since SHE came back, we’ve all been better for it.”

“Does she make you happy?”  Mary questioned, pressing her hand to Sam’s cheek.

“Yes, God, yes! And she makes Dean happy.”  Sam’s eyes shined. “It’s all I ever wanted for my brother, some happiness.”

“Then that’s all I care about.” She winked, “but if she hurts you!”

Suddenly they heard Beth screech from the basement and Sam went running.  He came down to the bottom of the stairs and burst out laughing. Dean was sprawled out under Beth, who was laughing too hard to get to her feet.

“What the hell?”  Becca asked as she and Mary came down behind him.

“Dean was trying to pick me up to put away some bags,” she giggled and looked down at the man on the floor as she slid off him.  “The damn ass tickled me and we lost our balance.”

“It’s not funny!  Have you ever had an entire Beth land on you?”  Dean grimaced. “I think I broke my…” he looked up at Mary, “ah, never mind.”

Beth and Sam pulled Dean from the floor and the two men began to pick up the mess that had fallen from the shelves as Beth put away more of the guns and ammo that they had brought.  She found a special spot on the wall for the Cavalry Pistol and smiled at it as she ran her hands over the symbols in the woodwork.

 

Sam made his way up the stairs, checking over the work they had done and shut off the light before closing the panel behind him.  Beth had been upstairs for more than thirty minutes and Sam could hear Dean talking to Mary in the kitchen, but when Sam looked around, he didn’t see the other woman.  Becca was fully engaged in the conversation going on at the counter but when Sam caught Dean’s eye, the only thing his older brother did was turn his sights down the hallway.

Sam grinned, quietly sneaking passed the others as he moved and turned the knob to the room at the end.  He found Beth standing by the window, dressed in a tight-fitting tee-shirt and jeans but he was instantly aware of the feelings that buzzed around the room.  She turned her head just a little, making sure it was him before she felt his hands running along both sides of her body.

Sam twirled her in his arms, sidestepped her from the window and pressed her against the wall.  The height difference didn’t matter to him, he just wanted her. Beth pressed her hands against his chest, caressing them up to his neck and he gently took her wrists, both in one hand and pressed them above her head against the wall.

“Just don’t move,” he whispered and leaned down, his lips so close she could feel the warmth of them as her eyes trained on his, staring at the want that filled him.  

His free hand moved down to the waist of her jeans, sliding over the bare skin that her shirt had revealed.  The instant he touched her, Sam could hear the low moan that escaped her lips, and Beth tried to kiss him but Sam backed teasingly away.  He’s smile was sly and as his hand ran higher, her eyes drooped.

“Don’t close them,” his voice was deep with lust and she looked up at him, watching him try to control his desire.  

She felt the tug on the denim fabric, and the pop of the button as he grabbed her hip below the belt, then ventured lower.  Beth could feel the need in him, and she found that she had no control over her breathing, or the little noises that escaped her as his fingers worked magic on anything he touched. 

Sam pressed himself against her, the only thing that separated them was his hand and the fabric of the clothes they wore.  His lips lingered, still not kissing, still not taking and he clenched his jaw together, trying hard to keep himself under control, but there was that one little sound, and the quaking of her legs that made him lose it.

Sam released her hands, which came crashing down on him as she cupped his face, tired of being teased by his lips and she pulled him towards her.  His lips ceased hers with unquenchable desire and he lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist moving them both to the bed. 

Somewhere in the midst of the frantic need for skin to skin contact, clothing was lost.  Jeans were discarded, shirts and other annoying little articles were tossed around the room until the only thing under Sam was her flesh.

Beth could feel him, all of him and she didn’t want to let go, as his kisses became more demanding and the marathon of action and emotion mixed together.  Her fingers dug into his bare back and Sam let out a noise she had never heard before, something between pain and pleasure, but whatever it stemmed from he seemed to enjoy it.  She raked them down between his shoulder blades and his lips left hers, the sound of a hiss passed his lips and his eyes closed tighter but it only seemed to egg him on.

Their need became feverish and set the bar for a high that both of them aimed for, achieved and crashed down from far too fast, but it wasn’t over, as the tingles shifted through both of them and Sam rested his face against her shoulder, lips to her cheek. Beth squeezed around him, every way she could, not wanting to let him go and Sam made a desperate noise.

“I love this room.”  He mumbled and Beth gave a little giggle.

“It’s because no one can feel you,” she replied, and turned her head in his direction, “except me.”  Beth watched as he backed his head up just a bit so that he could look into her eyes. “There’s a dampening spell on it, which means Dean’s blocked.”

“Finally,” Sam sighed, letting out a hopeful breath and he tucked his arms under her.  With ease, he moved her up the bed, still positioned as they were and nestled his head between hers and the pillow. “You’re all mine.”

Beth wanted to reply, but she couldn’t.  She would only be “all his” in this need, but her heart belonged to both of them.  As his breathing relaxed and his body became heavy with sleep, Beth ran her hands gently along his spine, enjoying the way he felt, the way he smelled and most of all, the way his heart thumped against her.

After what seemed like forever of staring at the ceiling, just enjoying Sam, she closed her eyes and let the warmth of sleep take over. It was still early, way too early, and she needed some sort of rest.

 

Noon came too fast, and with it, the shock of Dean’s dreams.  The spell only worked on certain emotions but not on all. Beth could feel the terror, the fear and gently, she slipped out of Sam’s arms.  Somewhere in their sleep, they had shifted to what seemed to be normal, his body pressed up against hers. She took the heavy covers and slipped them over Sam before she dressed in a long flannel shirt and some shorts, opened the door and slipped to the room next door.

She could hear the television in the living room playing some sort of game show, and Mary and Becca’s voice. For a moment, she felt odd leaving her friend to sit with their mother, but the two seemed to be getting along without issue and the pull of Dean’s need was too intense to ignore.

She slipped into the darkness of his room, glanced over the drawn curtain and looked down at the man on the bed. He was shirtless, the anti-possession tattoo dark and contrasted against the light tan of his skin.  Beth looked back at the door, unsure of what to do. She had seen him this way before, half-naked and moaning in his sleep but with the feel of Sam still on her, she was almost afraid to touch him.

It was the agonizing noise that escaped his lips that changed her mind. Whatever he was dreaming of wasn’t at all pleasant and she couldn’t take his pain. Beth rushed to the side of the bed, crawling into the empty space on her knees and she leaned over, her fingers running along his jaw and shoulders.  Dean’s eyes flew open, full of anger and the need for vengeance. Before Beth could react, she found herself underneath him, with Dean hovering above her on one fully extended arm. His jaw was tight, his eyes an intense green and his body fully aware of the woman underneath him.

Dean breathed in and out, taking in who she was, where he was and his waist pressed down against her, settling against her own.  Beth’s lips trembled, unsure of what to do or say, waiting for the violence to leave those eyes. His arm gave out, or more to the point, he let it give out, pinning her beneath him, and she reached up, blocking him with both hands against his chest.

Anger, protectiveness, the inability to save her all made Dean do and want very strange things, but without warrant, he thrust up against her, the clothing separating them but it should have been a feeling that should have started her running, but Beth only stayed put, even as the strange pleasure of it filled her.

Dean’s mouth opened, only slightly before he swallowed hard and thrust one more time. Beth let the noise escape, much to her surprise and Dean came down on her quickly, ceasing her lips.  She could feel the lust, not sexual but bloodlust that ran through him as the kiss deepened and she suddenly pushed him completely off from her and she jumped from the bed.

Shock was now the only thing that filled his eyes, as if he were truly and fully awake.  He stared up at her, looked down at his position and the condition that his body was ready for before setting his eyes on her once again.

“Beth,” he whispered, full of confusion and distrust for himself, but the words that came from him weren’t ones that she expected.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No,” she replied and shook her head, but she backed up when he reached out a hand.  “You were dreaming, I think.”

“I wasn’t dreaming,” he spoke softly, turning on the bed, so that he could pull the covers up more, covering himself as much as possible. “I was…I was dying.”

“What?”  She watched the pain fill his eyes and suddenly he moved, sitting up at the edge of the bed, pooling the covers around his hips.

“I was on the rack,” he mumbled.  “I was dying and I was calling out for Sam,” he looked up at her, the pain back in his eyes, “for you.”  Beth’s brow creased as she leaned back against his dresser. “What did I do?”

“Nothing, Dean,” she reassured him and watched him stare her down in disbelief, “nothing that changes anything.”  He nodded, but his body felt the uncertainty of everything and he ran a hand through his hair. “Do you want me to stay?”

“No,” he snapped and shook his head violently, “not after…you can’t stay.”

“Dean,” she pleaded and watched as he closed his eyes at that particular sound.

“Don’t say it like that,” he begged, “please.”

“Okay,” Beth wanted to hold him but she moved towards the door, “if you need me…”

“I need you more than you know,” his eyes locked on hers, desperately pleading, “but you need to go.”

Beth nodded, opened the door and gave him a worried glance one last time before disappearing out of the room.  Dean closed his eyes tightly and leaned his head down, placing his elbows on his knees as his hands covered his face.

She stood in the hallway for only a moment before heading into the bathroom.  Her eyes filled with tears as she stood under the prickling pressure of the hot water.  As she licked her lips, still feeling dry from sleep, she could taste them both and quickly she grabbed the soap.  The sweet smell of Irish Spring and the chemical taste of the lather washed any traces of both of them away. 

What the hell had just happened?  She questioned herself, not that she would have let Dean get any further, but her body had responded to him in ways that she would have never imagined.  She had  _ wanted  _ him, even with all that anger and aggression, she had wanted him just as much as she wanted Sam earlier that day.

With a deep breath, she looked up at the sound of the gentle knock on the door. It was Becca, she could tell by the sound of her knuckles against the wood, but her friend didn’t wait for an answer, or an invitation before she entered and pushed the curtain aside.  Becca sat down on the closed toilet seat and stared down at Beth, who had her knees tucked up to her chest, a position that Becca had found her in more than once.

“The energy flying around this house is liable to attract something, anything, more powerful than we have ever faced,” she stated, raising an eyebrow.  “Care to explain?”

“Not really,” Beth answered, looking away.

“I told you that using this power was going to bite you in the ass. The three of you would become one and guessing by the guilty look on your face, you’re getting there.”  Beth glared up at Becca. “I know how intense it can be, but you can’t respond to him.”

“I respond every time he touches me,” Beth whispered and shook her head. “This time was just a little more intense.”

“And Sam?” That was when Beth sniffled back the tears.  “That’s more intense too, like something unquenchable.”

“Why would I talk about my sex life with you?” Beth smiled, trying to make it sound like a joke but it didn’t come out that way at all. Beth rubbed her eyes with one hand and shook her head.

“Get out of the damned shower and let’s do what we do best, figure out this Greek God crap!”  Becca snapped, but it was done with a smile on her face. 

“I’m not getting out with you in here, I think I’ve had enough close calls today.”  Becca nodded, shut the shower off and tossed her a towel. “Thanks, Ass!”

“Don’t mention it,” Becca laughed, “I’ll make coffee.”

“Please, that would be great.”  Beth sighed and waited for the door to close.  

She took a deep breath, got up, dried off and wrapped her towel around her so she could change, but she made it out the door of the bathroom just as Dean was coming from his.  He looked her over, from head to toe and smiled, gave her his usual sly grin and headed off towards the kitchen, as if nothing had happened less than twenty minutes before.

 

Sam was still curled up in the blankets when she faced the dresser and dropped the towel, grabbing a shirt, jeans and other necessities from the drawers.  When she stood, looking in the mirror, she saw Dean standing behind her, naked as the day he was born and his hand caressed her shoulder. Beth spun around to nothingness, except the man sleeping on the bed.  Quickly she got dressed and ran out of the room.

Dean was, contrary to what she had just seen, fully clothed and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee at the counter when she stopped in the middle of the living room.  Becca turned and looked at her, at the fright in her eyes and watched as Beth slowly stepped up, taking the mug that was offered, but never took her eyes off him.

“Why are you staring at me like I just paddled your ass?”  Dean questioned. Not the choice of words that Beth wanted to hear but she shook her head as he leaned against the counter.  Beth was fully aware that the question had gotten Mary’s attention.

“I think there’s something wrong with me,” Beth confessed and shifted her eyes back and forth between them. With her words, Dean’s face filled with concern.

“What?”  She loved how he was direct but for a moment, she wish he had a little more understanding that it wasn’t as easy to explain as he might think.  

That little bit of enthusiastic worry had Sam up, half dressed and pulling a tee-shirt on as he walked into the living room half asleep.  Becca grabbed another cup and poured it for Sam but there was no way that Beth was discussing what happened with Mary in the room.

“Bunker,” Dean ordered, which brought back that protectiveness in his eyes and Beth shivered, “now.”

Beth glanced at Becca, who sighed and the four of them headed for the closet.  Mary stood to follow but Dean shook his head, a little more forcefully than was probably necessary but she needed to stay out of this one.

Once the door was closed and all four of them stood on the chilly floor, Sam watched the way that Beth stared at Dean.  He wasn’t sure what the hell had happened but he wanted to know and he wanted to know now.

“Okay,” Dean spoke up, “spill.”

“Something’s wrong with me,” Beth repeated and stopped to glare at each one.  “Sam and I were sleeping, the room is spelled, there shouldn’t have been anyway for Dean’s dreams to reach me let alone wake me up.”

“Wait, Dean’s dreams?”  Sam questioned and Beth raised her hand, just a bit to ask him to wait.

“Um, I got up and went to his room to see if I could take the edge off, but he…we…” Beth stopped as the tears streamed down her cheek. “Dean got the jump and I was under him.”

“Whoa, whoa, that never happened.”  Dean growled and again Beth raised her hands as Sam glared at his brother.

“To me, it did,” she sighed and wiped her cheek, “I could show it to you in great, extremely detailed fashion if you’d like.”

“Stop!”  Becca barked and the three of them looked at her.  “Beth, just tell the story.”

“Things were getting pretty intense but I moved and he kind of woke up,” she crossed her arms, staring at Dean, “as if the things that happened were part of his dream. He told me he was dying, that he was on the rack and calling for us.  He asked me if he hurt me, but Sam,” she turned in his direction, “Dean never hurt me, I swear.”

“So you were inches away from sex but he didn’t hurt you?”  Sam questioned. 

“It never got that close, miles away is more like it but he didn’t want me to stay, actually he pleaded with me to go, so I went and took a shower.”  Beth shrugged, and took a deep breath.

“I don’t remember any of that!  In fact my dreams were…” Dean stopped for a moment and thought about it.  

“You don’t remember your dreams?”  Becca asked and watched as Dean shook his head and she turned to Beth, “what makes you think there’s something wrong with you?”

“I went to the room to change and Sam was still asleep, I dropped the towel, grabbed the clothes and Dean was standing behind me.  I felt him touch my shoulder.” Beth watched the anger rise in Sam’s face. “It wasn’t possible, there’s no way he could have been in the room with both of us at that time.”

“Why?” Sam growled.

“Because he was standing in the kitchen with me, having coffee.”  Becca answered and Dean turned to his brother.

“I swear, Sammy, none of it happened, not with me.”  Dean pleaded for understanding.

“I don’t think it did either,” Beth whispered, which brought their gazes back to her.  “I think there’s something going on.”

“What exactly?”  Sam questioned, but crossed his arms, the anger in his stance was evident.

“I think I have something that might help,” Becca spoke up and the four of them made their way upstairs to the small room at the end, right next to Sam and Beth’s. 

Mary followed this time as they opened the door and flipped on the light, the five of them fit comfortably in the den, with its one wall covered in books and the other three plastered with research. Mary wanted to whistle, to tell the boys about how it reminded her of her father’s den but she kept quiet and just listened.

“While Cas and I were here together, some strange things were going on,” Becca spoke up as she dug through a pile of papers, “it took us a few days to figure out that we weren’t alone here.”

“Not alone?” Beth questioned, “as in my-house-is-haunted not alone?”

“You bought a haunted house?”  Dean smirked and Beth backhanded him, hitting him in the gut.  Both the boys stood protectively beside her as she let Becca hand her a paper.  “No, seriously?”

“I had it built,” Beth whispered and took the paper that Becca handed her. “A Baku?”

“That is nowhere near Greek.”  Sam said and took the paper. 

“I thought they were only up in Alaska.”  Dean shrugged.

“It would explain why the wards didn’t work, we didn’t have it on the house when it was being built.” Becca told her.  Beth sighed. “I still don’t understand exactly what a Baku would be doing in the house.”

“It still doesn’t explain what was going on,” Beth replied and shook her head.  Becca stepped up to her, ignoring the people in the room, and placed a hand on her shoulder.  

“Think about Dean,” Becca whispered.

“Um, excuse me?”  Sam questioned and Becca gave him a glaring look.

“When you went into the room, think about what you saw.”

“I saw Dean,” she whispered and closed her eyes. 

She thought about the moments she was in there, the way he looked, the emotions in his eyes and she watched his face distort into something not human.  Quickly she shook herself out of it and felt a hand wrap around hers, Sam’s worried eyes set down on hers. 

“Oh my God,” Beth felt her legs go weak.

“Now, the next time you saw him, in the mirror,” Becca encourage and Beth took a ragged breath as she closed her eyes slowly, feeling the hand on hers tighten.  

The man who stood behind her had Dean’s face, his body, but it shifted into something devilish, full of fire and scary as hell.  Beth opened her eyes and tried to catch her breath as her eyes filled with fear. Sam wrapped his arms around her as Dean reached out a hand, bracing it against Beth’s lower back.

“Get it out of my house!”  Beth sneered and as Sam released her, Becca handed him a stack of papers.  

The five of them moved out to the living room and while the two sat at the table to research, Beth sat on one of the chairs, her knees to her chest trying to avoid Dean’s eyes.

He finally got fed up and walked over to her, kneeling down before her, where her eyes couldn’t miss him.  When he reached out, she backed away, which made him clench his fist, but Dean tried again, a determined look on his face.  He moved, this time to sit in the extra space on the couch and he leaned over her, one arm on either side of her.

“Al, look at me,” he whispered, but it was demanding and Beth sighed, looking directly into his eyes.  “I would never put you in a position like that. I would never assume that you wanted any part of that. Do you understand that?  I would never hurt you.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” she smiled, and took one of his hands.  

“Forgive me.” Mary listened to him ask and her eyes widened at how soft his voice had gone.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” she put her forehead against his.

“But you’re still looking at me like there is,” Dean closed his eyes.

“That’s because you’re still a pervert and I’m not sure if that was your dream or mine.”  She smiled, and peeked at the sly grin that crossed his face. Beth kissed his forehead and felt Dean slip away.  Beth glanced over at Mary, who had a suspiciously happy look on her face, which unnerved Beth in more ways than she cared to admit.

An hour had passed and while Dean and Beth switched positions more times than a rubix cube, Sam and Becca finally came up with something.  Sam walked in and looked down at the two of them. Dean laying one way across the floor, his arms crossed under his head as he stared at the ceiling fan, and Beth the other way, using Dean’s growling stomach as a pillow.  Sam grinned as he stood above his brother looking down, and Dean rolled his eyes upwards to see the shit-eating grin on his baby brother’s face.

“We think we found a way to get rid of our little problem,” Sam spoke up and watched as Dean reached down, petting Beth on the forehead.

“But I was hoping to keep her,” he said sarcastically and felt the snap of her fingers across his moving arm.  “Ow, never mind, it bites!”

Beth glanced over at Mary, who hadn’t said much all day, and sat up about ready to slap Dean again when she saw the look that Sam was giving her.  She narrowed her eyes at Dean, as if to tell him she could take him in an instant and biting would be the least of his worries, but she reached up and took Sam’s outstretched hand.

He helped her to her feet, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly before Becca walked over.  Beth was suddenly feeling cornered when Dean found a spot beside his mother.

“So, how much of my insides are you going to have to rip out?”  Beth laughed as Sam turned her towards the chair. The younger Winchester grinned like a little boy and then licked his lips.  “I don’t think I like that little smile on your face.”

“We need to see your dreams in order to find the talisman.”  Becca replied, her face completely serious. Beth glanced between her and the boys and shook her head.

“No way!”  She argued.  “And what talisman?”

“Usually a Baku is summoned to take away the nightmares,” Sam added as he stepped closer to her, and lowered her down into the chair. “They’re dream-eaters.”

“Dream what?”  Dean stood in his usual stance, feet apart, arms crossed and a look of “excuse me” written across his face.

“A dream-eater,” Becca replied and set the papers down on the coffee table.  “The Japanese would summon them to take care of unwanted nightmares, but when there isn’t enough to fill it, the will drive you mad, make you see things you really don’t need to.”

“So, Japanese, and the reason it got past the wards,” Beth nodded, understanding what she was told.  “It’s stuck here in the walls somewhere.”

“That’s our best guess, but we need you to go through your dreams again, it’s the only way to pinpoint exactly where.”  Becca watched the fear spread over her face as she shook her head and Sam leaned down in front of her.

“I can’t, Sam, I just can’t.” Beth turned her head towards Dean, looking deep into his eyes before she turned back to stared into the greenish-blue ones in front of her.  “I don’t want you to see that.”

“It’s not going to change anything between us, any of us, I wish you would believe that.”  Sam sighed, brushing her cheek with the backside of his fingers. “You have to try or this will keep going, and it will drive you mad.”

“Fine,” Beth grumbled and rolled her shoulders as she sat back in the chair but Sam never let go of her hand

Becca looked at Dean. “You need to hold her hand too.”

His mouth moved, thinking of a million and a half reasons to keep out of it but he took her hand in his and looked at Sam.  “Well, this is awkward.”

“Shut up!”  Beth mumbled and looked up at him from the corner of her eyes.  “You’re not the one in the chair.”

“I don’t want to see what you and Sam do behind closed doors either.”  He answered, and Beth kicked him in the shin.

“Are you two done screwing around?” Becca questioned, giving them both dirty looks.  Both Dean and Beth nodded but Dean stuck his tongue out at her like a child which made Beth roll her eyes.  “Okay, so Beth, you need to close your eyes and concentrate on everything that happened after you entered your room this morning, the boys are going along for the ride to look for anything unusual.”

“Dean’s going just to catch a peek.” Beth laughed but heard Sam clear his throat.  “Sorry.”

“So, when I start the chant, it’s going to draw you back to the time that we need you to start at and then we’ll move forward from there.”  Becca whispered.

“Wait, chant?”  Mary spoke up, suddenly standing, “Like a spell.”

“Mom,” Dean said shaking his head, “not the time.”

“I’m not going to let you put a spell on my sons,” she said shaking her head.

“The spell isn’t on her, it’s on Beth,” Becca said as she turned and looked at her.  “The boys are just going along for the ride. Trust me, they are already so far into each other’s minds that this is going to be a cakewalk for them.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Your boys and Beth are telepathically linked, there’s nothing that they can’t see or do when they put their collective mind to it, now please, just sit down and be quiet.”  Becca said forcefully, which made Sam and Dean look over at her in shock. Becca turned towards them and listened to the woman behind her sit down. “Ready Beth?”

“If I said no, would you care?”  She grumbled but nodded.

Becca picked up the paper and whispered in Latin.  It was a language that Beth understood, something she knew all about, but these words were jumbled, they didn’t make any sense but the weight of the spell flowed over her, bringing her into the darkness until she found herself standing in her bedroom.  She watched as her past self moved over towards the window and waited. Her heart raced as she turned and saw Sam walk in, step up behind her and she certainly remembered what happened next but all she could see was Sam’s backside.

Beth took the moment of distraction to glance around the room, to see if there was anything out of place but she was hit with a tee-shirt and glanced over at the bed, where the couple had moved to.  She closed her eyes, trying to drown out the familiar noise and the feelings behind it and when she opened them, she found Dean standing in front of her, his back towards the bed and his fingers in his ear.

“Why am I here?”  He questioned and shook his head.  “And, Jesus, could you be any louder?”

“What do you care, we soundproofed the room remember.”  Beth smiled and glanced around again. “It’s got to be in here, there a different feel to it.”

“Oh, there’s a different feel, all right.”  Dean grumbled as he moved around the outskirts of the room, turning everywhere but to the naked couple on the bed.  “Where the hell is Sam?”

“I’m not sure,” Beth whispered and walked over towards the window.  It had been where she was standing before, so that was the best place to start.  The vigorous couple on the bed had fallen silent and she noticed that they weren’t there anymore.  She tapped Dean on the arm with the back of her hand and he turned, noticing the lack of noise. “What just happened?”

“You fell asleep,” he answered and gestured toward the headboard where only Beth remained.  “Did you dream up what happened between you and Sam?”

“Not a chance in hell.”  She laughed, but noticed how she lay in the bed, as if she were tucked against him, but there was no second body.  

She watched as the time moved quickly, her image twisted and turned as if in fast-forward and suddenly it stopped.  Dean shook his head, still looking at the window, the dresser and he stopped by the nightstand. Dean stood and turned towards her, just as the body in the bed sat up.

“I think I found…” Dean’s voice was gone and Beth looked in his direction, the scene changed, the room itself changed and she found herself standing in Dean’s dark room with Sam standing beside her.

“Oh my God,” she whispered and glanced up at him, “please don’t look.”

Sam looked down at her, a bit confused about what was going on but he didn’t say anything, he just followed the same pattern that Dean had done in the other room.  She watched herself come in, move over to the half-naked man on the bed and watched as the tables turned. Her heart pounded as she stepped closer, watched the interaction between herself and Dean, the look in his eyes, the look on her face as he pushed himself close, the sheet covering the fact that both of them were dressed, at least from the waist down.

“Please, Sam, don’t look.” She pleaded again but when she turned to face him, after she watched herself slip out from under Dean, she noticed that Sam was crouched down in the corner of the room, the same spot that Dean had stood up from in the other bedroom.    

She turned back to the couple before her.  Dean pleading with her to leave, Beth wondering if she should stay but instead of waiting to see what Dean did after, Beth followed herself out of the room, closing the door behind her.  It was her door, the door to the room that she and Sam shared that she pulled shut. It was from her door that she moved towards the shower.

Beth was very confused but listened to the interaction between her and Becca. She had known about what happened between Dean and Beth, at least that was what she had thought but listening back on the conversation, it had nothing to do with the room she had just come from, it had to do with the connection and the power behind it. Becca hadn’t come in the bathroom to lecture her about the dangers of Dean, her second drug of choice, she had come in so she could talk to her about the power.

That was when the dream switched, when Beth was back in her room.  She noticed herself standing in front of the mirror and moved to stand right beside her, so that there were two of the same people facing her. 

It was when she noticed the change, that Beth and Sam were in the bed behind her.  Beth watched as the naked Dean appeared behind her reached out and caressed her shoulder, but this time it wasn’t a caress, it was as if the image was pulling something from her, as if a wave of blue energy was collecting from her skin and her image turned suddenly to face him, but he was nowhere to be found.

The one beside her vanished and the Beth in the bed got up quickly, making a break for the living room, which roused the sleeping Sam from his slumber.  Sam passed her and Beth concentrated on the corner where her anchors had focused. She stepped over and looked down at the plug, the one they never used, the one that always seemed to have the breaker switch on, like it never reset, and all of her plug were set to switch off when they were tripped, this one never even clicked.

 

Beth sat up in straight in the chair, her heart thumping against her chest as she released the boys’ hands.  Sam and Dean both looked at her, concerned as she stood and headed towards the bunker. Everyone, all curious, followed while Beth rummaged through the drawers.

“Hey,” Sam spoke up as he took hold of her arm.  Beth looked up at him, her eyes wide. “What are you looking for, we want to help.”

“An EMF,” she said, a bit flustered.  “You said it was a dream-eater, right?”  She looked over at Becca, who nodded. “A Baku is a spirit, so we should be able to pick up some sort of EMF.”

“Found it,” Dean added and held it up from a drawer across the room.  

“What else?”  Sam whispered.  She took a minute to think and shook her head.  

“Salt, we need salt and probably a shotgun.”  Beth nodded, watching as Sam grabbed the sawed-off from the wall, pocketed a few of the shells and loaded some into the gun.  Mary grabbed the bag of salt and they all went upstairs to the back bedroom but it was the chisel that Beth grabbed last that made Sam question just what she was thinking. 

The meter was quiet as they moved down the hallway, almost as if there were nothing until they reached the threshold and suddenly it spiked, beeping louder the further in they got. Beth turned to Mary, motioning for her to block the doorway and watched as she did that and the windowsill.

“Where did we see it?”  Sam whispered, he knew he was in the dream but he didn’t remember much of it.

“By the table,” Dean replied as he moved closer, letting the meter go as it spiked off the chart.  

Beth bent down to the outlet, to the one she had noticed in her dream and pushed the button, just to make sure that there was no power going to it. Sam was about to warn her but all she did was jam the chisel down behind the plate, not caring about what might happen. Dean gave Sam a look, just as confused as the rest as to what Beth was doing but she pried the plastic plate from the wall and looked into it.  There were no wires, no electrical connection at all. But when she finally got it completely off, Sam crouched down to shine a light into the space beyond it. 

“Huh,” he stated and leaned down.  

There was no way he was getting his hand in there, so Beth rolled up her sleeve and stuck her hand into the hole up to her wrist.  She looked up at the boys, grasping her fingers around the small package that was inside and twisted it to get it out. When she opened her hand, there was a small rabbit skin wrapped object in the palm of her hand.  She moved, just as quickly as she felt the energy build up in it and stepped over the salt line in the doorway. The others followed, turning as they all looked back into the room.

There stood a nasty looking creature, something that resembled a Frankenstein monster, a thrown-together monster that roared at them with sharp teeth.  Becca grabbed the item from Beth’s hand and moved into the bathroom. She placed the item in the tub, surrounded and sprinkled it with salt before she doused it in the lighter fluid she had taken from the basement.

Dean handed her the lighter from his pocket and watched as it went up in flames.  Beth stood in the hallway and watched the monster writhe in pain as the fire seemed to consume the body it was in.  Sam stepped up beside her, grasping her by the shoulders and he pulled her to him, pressing his lips to her temple.

When it vanished, when the house was quiet, Sam’s arms wrapped tightly around her as she put her head back against him.  Dean stepped out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorsill, his hands in the pockets of his jeans as Becca and Mary walked by.  Sam looked over at his brother, gave him a small smile and watched as the corner of Dean’s mouth creeped up in a grin before he nodded and walked down the hallway away from the couple.

“It was just a dream,” Sam whispered against her ear.  “Everything with Dean was just a dream.”

“You know what they say about your subconscious and what you really want,” she whispered, as she frowned.  “Do you think this monster just pulled things out of my head?”

“Do you want my brother?”  Sam questioned and Beth turned in his arms.

“I always want him, like I want you, but with him it’s not that type of want that I’m looking for,” she sighed, “does that even make sense?  I love Dean, but I don’t want to be with him.”

“It makes perfect sense to someone who can feel you,” Sam laughed, “would it make sense to the rest of the world, probably not, but who cares.”  He moved his hands, placing one on each side of her neck and he leaned down, taking her lips with his as he let the need that he felt for her flow into her.  He could hear Dean groan in the living room as he backed away and laughed. “Okay, so none of that outside the room.”

“Thank God!”  Dean hollered down to them.

“Now we have another problem to sort out,” Beth whispered and watched as he gave a questioning look, “you mother knows that Becca is a witch.”

“I’m pretty sure she got that when Cas brought her home.”  Sam shrugged, “she told me there was something off about her if she could put up the type of wards we have without slipping into a coma.”

“Your mom is one smart cookie,” Beth laughed and looked towards the bathroom door.  Someone had shut it and turned on the vent so that the smoke didn’t set off the detectors.  “Welcome home.”

“Can we go back to earlier and have that welcome home again?”  Sam laughed as he kissed her once more. Beth smiled and shook her head.  

“I would really love to have lunch first,” she giggled and took his hands in hers as they moved down the hallway toward the kitchen.  

 

Dean said screw it and ordered a pizza, which arrived not more than thirty minutes later, and gave them enough time to sort out the house, clean up the bathroom and get rid of what was left of the ash from the Baku.  Dean watched as Beth sat on a bucket, holding a bag with the ash in is as he dug a hole in the yard, but with the final scoop, he sat back and looked at her.

“Was the dream you and I were in so bad that it freaked you out?”  He questioned.

“Are you asking me if I was unimpressed with your performance?”  She smiled and watched as his expression didn’t change, which made her take a deep breath.  “It didn’t freak me out that it was you, it freaked me out that I wanted it so badly.”

“You want me?”  He smiled which made Beth roll her eyes.

She licked her lips as she tossed the bag of ash in the hole, and peered into his eyes.  “Dean, just because I can’t have you, doesn’t mean I don’t want you, please don’t’ ever think that. I love you, I wish we could have so much more and as taboo as it sounds, I really wish I could have you both, in every way, but it can’t happen.”

“So because you enjoyed it, you thought there was something wrong with you?”  

Beth shook her head. “No, I thought there was something wrong with me when I turned around and you were gone.”  She looked down at her hands and closed her eyes for a moment. “Do you ever have the fear that one day you’ll wake up and what you had, what made you so happy was gone, just disappeared?”

“Every time I open my eyes and walk out of that room, hell any room, and find you missing.”  He answered, thinking back to when she had taken off on them only to end up here.

“That’s the fear I felt when you vanished,” she shrugged.  “I don’t ever want to lose you, or Sam, and I think our lives make us fear that the most.”

“I wish I could marry you,” Dean confessed and watched the smile form on her face as it flushed with heat.

“Why?” She hated to even ask the question.

“Then no one could say anything if I decided to keep you locked up in the basement, because, you know that little piece of paper makes you belong to me.”  He cracked a smile so wide that she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I would at least know you were safe all the time.”

“You’re such a romantic,” she stated sarcastically and leaned down, kissing him lightly on the lips.  “Now cover up that hole and come in and eat.”

Dean watched as she walked away, admiring her stride before he shook his head, getting his mind back on task and filled in the hole just outside the barrier of the wards.  

 

Later on that evening, with a strange warm front moving through, Sam laid out a blanket on the lawn and watched the sky with Beth by his side.  Just behind them, a fire roared in the pit and Mary, Becca and Dean all sat around trading stories, but it was when Sam rolled over to face her, as she stared upwards, that the realization that they were home finally struck.

“I’m so glad today is over,” he whispered as he kissed her cheek. Beth turned to him.

“I think you’re going soft in your old age,” she smiled and let him kiss her on the mouth, tasting the beer that he had just taken a sip of.

“Why?”

“You’re happy, Sam,” she shrugged, “doesn’t that feel weird to you?”

“When it comes to you, everything feels weird to me,” he laughed, “no, seriously, I’ve wanted out, and with you, I have a way, even if we’re still doing it, hunting things, at least I have a home.” He caressed the side of her cheek, “I have you.”

Beth caught the glimmer of light out of the corner of her eyes as she stared at Sam’s happy face, but the sight of it becoming a flaming ball of fire made her sit up quickly.  Twenty yards down the lawn, she watched as it crashed into the ground and bounced, coming to settle in a pile of Earth and grass. 

All of them were up and running towards it before they knew what happened, but despite usually being the first ones in, Sam stopped Dean, grasping him by the shirt as Beth moved into the dirt ditch, particles still raining down on her.

Beth dug, it was the only thing her mind could possibly concentrate on, something had fallen, something had bounced like a rock skipped over water so whatever it was…was buried down below.  Her hands came in contact with soft fabric, familiar to her grasp, and she remembered back at the hospital, the two handfuls of it that she had clenched between her fists. She remembered the face, the indifferent face of the man who wore it, and with everything she had, she quickly pulled Cas to the top of the heavy ground that pressed him deeper.  

She placed his head on her lap, clearing the blackness from around his eyes and mouth as she cradled his face, glancing up at the boys. Sam’s shocked expression wasn’t helping her, didn’t give her any hope and she leaned down and got her ear as close to his mouth as she could, smelling the fresh ground around him and her only thought was of his grave.

“Do angels breathe?”  She asked confused but with fear and panic in her tone as she tried to clean him off more with shaky fingers. Sam released Dean to go down into the pit with her, sliding into the other side as he dug out around his chest.  Dean’s legs gave out, sending him to his knees, staring at the body they moved cautiously around until he saw the slight movement of Cas’ fingers.

“Guys, he moved!”  Dean shouted and slowly made his way down, setting himself beside the smaller of the two and reached over to touch Cas’ face.  

Tears streamed down Becca’s face as Mary held her against her, but it was the sudden inhuman roar that echoed through the field that had all their attention set on the direction that the angel had come from.  

Dean looked quickly down at his friend and patted him on the face. “Come on, Cas!”

“We have to move him,” Sam stated and watched as his brother scooped up the fallen angel, bearing all of his weight and they moved from the crater towards the house. Dean rushed, with Mary and Becca behind him and as Sam pulled Beth from the hole, the two shared a seconds worth of concern before Sam held tight to her hand and pulled her in the direction of the house, but Beth stopped, her feet planted and listened to the roar once again.  

“What the hell is that?”  She questioned and watched as Sam moved to stand beside her, looking out at the gigantic shape that blocked out the light of the moon.


	15. The Monster in my head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greek mythology can be a real bitch, but nothing is compared to what they come up against, or the way that Hera decides to help them out with solving this case.

The Monster in my Head

SPN FanFic #15

Plot Copyright D. Gray 2016

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary and the Impala are the property of The CW.

 

THEN

Sam pulled Beth from the hole, the two shared a seconds worth of concern before Sam held tight to her hand and pulled her in the direction of the house, but Beth stopped, her feet planted and listened to the roar once again.  

“What the hell is that?”  She questioned and watched as Sam moved to stand beside her, looking out at the gigantic shape that blocked out the light of the moon.

Flame billowed up from just outside the barrier line ten feet off the ground and Sam watched the distinct silhouetted shape of large wingspan outwards. The roar came once again, shaking their insides as Beth pressed a hand to her ear, but Sam seemed unaffected by it, he just stared with an emotion on his face that Beth knew too well.  This thing was gunning for him next.

She kicked him in the shin, something she normally wouldn’t do but it snapped him out of whatever was going on and he looked down at her, a flash of anger in his eyes before he realized that she had broken the spell that ran through his body.

“You know, it’s usually a slap on the face when you want to get people’s attention,” Sam argued but there was no time and he wasn’t even sure why he had told her it, but Beth grabbed him by the hand and headed for the house.

“You’re too damn tall for me to reach!”  She hollered back as they sprinted towards the porch.  

Once the door was safely closed behind them, both found themselves leaning against it to catch their breath.  Sam waited just a few moments before he moved towards the dirty couch where Dean had placed Cas and he looked down at the unconscious Angel.

“He’s alive,” Becca whispered, kneeling beside the couch with a washcloth and a bowl of water. 

Cas’ discarded beige coat, tie, and dress coat sat in a pile on the kitchen’s linoleum floor as Beth closed her eyes, listened to the roar again, dampened by the walls of the house.  She could see the anger in Dean’s eyes, the hurt in Sam’s and she turned towards her left, giving a little pressure to the wall beside her and listened as the panel gave way, open a small cabinet.  All of them looked up, Mary included, who had been pacing behind them and watched as Beth slipped the leather quiver over her shoulder and grabbed the crossbow.

Sam covered the space between the couch and the door in fewer strides than it took Beth to load the first arrow, and with his hand on the door, he looked down at the fury in her eyes.

“Are you insane?”  He asked quietly, his voice as level as he could get it.

“Do you have another suggestion?”  She snapped back.

“Yeah, not going out and feeding yourself to a monster you can’t see and know nothing about,” Sam growled, always the voice of reason but the emotions on his face were just about to get the best of him.  She could see he was almost at his own breaking point and she watched as he looked at Dean, before grabbing the shotgun from the cabinet and a handful of shells. Dean stood, ever the hunter and walked over, face smudged, and took the other shotgun that hid behind it, but Sam placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Stay with Cas.”

“He’s hurt, but he’s alive and I’m going to kill the son of a bitch that did that to him.” Dean’s eyes were set, his voice had taken on that tone that only happened when someone was going to die for hurting  _ his _ family.

“All three of you are insane!”  Mary piped up and stood before her boys and Beth, “did you see the size of that thing?”

“Becca?”  Beth glanced passed Mary to her friend and watched the thoughtful eyes rest on Castiel before she nodded.  Sam reached for the doorknob and suddenly Becca was standing beside Dean. “You don’t have to go.”

“Do you know how to do a Greek spell, any Greek spell to reinforce the barriers?”  She was being serious, but watched Beth smile.

“I don’t even get my Latin right half the time,” she shrugged and grabbed the Walther PPK out of the cabinet.  “It has a full mag, seven rounds, so have at it.”

Sam looked to Mary, “stay with Cas, make sure he keeps breathing.”

“He’s an angel, what the hell am I supposed to do with him?”

“Angel stuff?”  Sam shrugged, which got one of those “you really didn’t just say that” stares from Dean. “Look, he’s healing already, it won’t take him long to be on his feet.”

“Fine!”  She growled and Sam opened the door.  

 

The four of them walked outside, down to the middle of the field, passed the spot where Cas had hit but there was no noise, no actual sign of the creature beyond the barrier. Dean gestured to Sam, breaking off to the right and Sam elbowed Beth to say he was going left as Becca stayed three steps behind Beth.  

They got as close as they wanted to the barrier line before Beth felt the connection, the tickle of both boys in each hemisphere of her mind.

_ “I don’t see anything,”  _ Dean echoed in her mind as she glanced in his direction before turning towards Sam, the darkness separating them.

_ “I’ve got nothing.” _  Sam added.

Becca took a few steps back, grabbing Beth by the collar as she stared up into the woods, her voice suddenly spouting off words in a language Beth was beginning to understand and the blue-eyed woman turned to look at the spot Becca hadn’t taken her eyes from.

“Ah, yeah,” Beth whispered.  “I think we found it.”

The creature stepped from beyond the trees.  It was definitely female, the features of the large, grey, scaly body made that plainly obvious but as it roared, the hair on its head turned to flame and Beth felt her heart jump.  She aimed the crossbow, the heart in her sight and fired off one of the arrows. Becca fired from behind, scaring the hell out of Beth as she placed a hand to her ear. Neither touched it.  She could hear the boys moving closer, listened to the guns go off on either side of her and watched as it spread its wings.

“You are one ugly bitch,” Beth mumbled as she pulled her own gun from the back of her jeans, letting the bow hang at her side and let off the repeated rounds until it clicked under her thumb.  She could see the blood starting to trickle as the bullets finally started to penetrate the armor but it let out a sound that shook her insides. Sam and Dean stopped in their tracks, lowering the guns and Beth watched that same expression fill Sam’s face.  

“Crap!” Beth turned to Becca, “get Dean, snap him out of it anyway you can think of but we have to get them back!”  And the woman did what she was told. Beth put herself between Sam and the red-eyed monster. Her only thought was to kick him again but there was something he needed more this time.  She grabbed him by the coat and pulled him down quickly into a kiss, one that immediately broke the spell and Sam’s eyes opened wide. He looked at her confused and took in the sight of the creature.  “We need to move, NOW!”

Sam watched as Becca grabbed Dean, pulling on his shirt with no luck and he glanced down at Beth.  “You’re going to have to do that to him, she’s not going to snap him out of it.”

Beth rolled her eyes, pulled him along and stopped in front of Dean. The man was staring right up at the monster, no issues except the ones that flowed through his mind and Beth repeated the same thing she had with Sam, pulling him into a heated kiss.  Dean suddenly pushed her away gently, his hands on her shoulders, as he looked at her, quite confused. 

“Let’s go, we’re not taking this one out tonight,” Beth breathed as Dean looked up at Sam, still trying to figure out just what was going on.  

The four of them made it almost to the house when the creature broke the line.  Beth stopped and watched it come forward, its long legs making it powerful enough to reach them in seconds if it wanted to but it stopped ten feet with in the line, right where Becca had stood.  Sam turned to her.

“A little present,” Becca smiled and chanted, her voice low and almost seductive, but what it did sent them all reeling.  The blast shook the ground beneath their feet and with it came a shockwave that brought all four of them into complete darkness.

 

Now

 

The black and chrome 1967 Chevy Impala moved along the back New York roads like it was gliding on smooth pavement.  The sounds of Skynyrd and Kansas blared over the speaker as Dean Winchester, a devilishly handsome, green-eyed man sat behind the wheel, humming the tunes loudly.  A smirk crossed his face as he shrugged of the thin jacket he wore and his eyes danced as he took a quick gander at what his younger brother was clicking away at on the small laptop.

Sam Winchester, the younger but slightly taller, rugged looking man in the passenger's seat, his green-blue eyes plastered to the glow of the screen before him, as his hair fell annoyingly into his line of sight as he looked down over the articles. He could feel his brother’s eyes on him and with a deep, irritated breath; he picked his head up and turned it in the direction of the grinning driver.

“What is it?”  Sam questioned, not that Dean had said anything but there was just something hanging in the air.

“Have we been up here before?”  Dean’s gruff, lower voice vibrated as he glanced around the open fields.  

“Not this part of New York,” Sam answered, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders, “at least not that I remember.”

“You got something?”  Dean gestured to the computer screen, trying to sneak a peek as he drove.

“Yeah, actually, I think I do.”  Sam went back to the task he was working on, his eyebrows furrowed not in confusion but more of “why didn’t they pick up on this”.  “Small town USA, three people in the last two weeks, all males and gutted, blood covered the scene but none was left in the body.”

“Vampires?”  Dean questioned and the grin widened.  “Werepires.”

“Oh, God, not that again,” Sam rolled his eyes.  “There’s no such thing, now shut up and listen.” Sam tabbed down on the screen a few times until he got to the spot that he was looking for.  “The local Sheriff has asked the county for help in solving the cases due to the strange nature of the deaths. There were unspecified parts missing from the bodies but the papers don’t say what and none of them happened anywhere near a full moon.  So your Werepire theory is out the door.”

“And Vampires don’t shred when they feed,” Dean added.  Yep, his theory just flew out the window.

Vampires, werewolves, to hunters they were all the same, monsters that needed to be taken care of and Sam and Dean were some of the best in the country.  Most people didn’t believe in things that went bump in the night, these two specialized in keeping it that way. 

“We’re not more than an hour away,” Sam chimed in and watched as Dean shrugged.  

“You’re itching to hunt?”  Sam shrugged and closed the laptop, he was itching for something, he just wasn’t quite sure what yet.  “Alright, if it’s got your interest, we’ll check it out.

 

Carthage, New York

 

Pulling the suit jacket over his stark white shirt, Sam stepped out of the passenger’s side of the Impala and shut the door.  The town was small enough, looked like a place he might recognize if he had been there before but he couldn’t seem to remember when.  

Dean tossed him the badge and tucked his own into his pocket, straightened his tied and met Sam on the sidewalk.  Dean had this sneaking suspicion that he had stepped foot in the town at some point but couldn’t quite get a handle on just when.  He stopped, just before the steps to the station and looked at the small gas station down the street.

“You alright?”  Sam questioned and watched as Dean gave him a look, on that told the younger Winchester that he wasn’t sure of something but shrugged and followed him up and into the building. 

The reception desk was manned by one woman, and she looked up from the phone just before she put it down.  He watched her give them both the once over and then winked at Dean as she smacked the gum in her mouth.

“Can I help you, Gentlemen?”  She questioned. Sam didn’t even bother reading her name plate, the woman creeped him out and he just wanted out of there.

“Agents Palmer and Walsh, we’re here to speak to the Sheriff about your recent deaths,” Dean spoke up, as they both flashed their badges, seeing that Sam was uneasy.

“Strange stuff like that happens here all the time,” the woman replied as if she could have cared less but she pushed the button on the phone and her voice boomed over the loudspeaker.  “Sheriff Dunham to the front desk, please?”

Sam jumped at the noise and Dean gave him a quick “what the hell is wrong with you” gaze before smiling down at the woman once more.  The Sheriff, a middle-aged balding man with a beer gut hanging over his belt walked up to the desk, trying to help that belt keep up his pants and he reached his hands out.

“Gentlemen,” he smiled extending a hand, “Troy Dunham, nice to meet you.”

“Agents Palmer and Walsh,” Dean answered, as he shook the sweaty palm of the man in front of him.  Sam did the same but seemed to be caught up looking at the small details of the department. “We’re here because of your recent string of deaths.”

“Hmm, the Feds up this way because of three animal attacks?”  The man laughed, and Sam shot Dean an even more confused glance.  “Come on this way and we’ll talk about it.” They followed to the man’s office where they sat on the other side of the desk and watched him pick up a powdered donut.  “We get strange things going on all the time here in Carthage. Animal maulings are common with so many bear in the area.”

Dean rolled his eyes.  “Do you mind if we see the scene photos?”

“I would love to help you out there but they are all down at the CSI lab, we don’t keep things like that in here.”  

Sam scratched his head, so the creepy woman behind the desk wasn’t going to be the weirdest thing he had dealt with today, and he turned to Dean.

“Do you mind pointing us in the direction of said office?”  

“Sure,” Dunham smiled and stood up.  “There’s an old library at the edge of town, not two miles up the road on the left.  The basement is where we keep all the files but I’m afraid our CSI isn’t in today, it’s her day off.”

“Excuse me?”  Dean sat forward in the chair and Sam closed his eyes.

“Yeah, but I think you might be able to catch her out at the house,” Dunham smiled and wrote down the name and address as if handing it out was a natural thing, but as Sam took the card he could see why.

“Marshall’s Bed and Breakfast?”  Sam questioned and turned to Dean.

“Her and her, ah, partner run the place.  You can’t miss it, big two-story Colonial house with a wrap-around porch in the middle of big field, great spot if you are looking for a place to rest while you’re in town as well.  I don’t recommend the motel; it’s a bit of a rattrap.” 

The Sheriff was pushing them out the door or at least that was what it felt like so the brothers decided to go on with the lead and made it passed the creepy woman before they stopped, one on each side of the Impala.

“That was…” Sam stopped.

“Weird, definitely weird,” Dean finished and the two of them slid into the car.  Dean fired up the engine and it rumbled away from the station, heading two miles down the road to check out the library location.  It looked like an old Victorian, but the second floor windows were boarded up and it looked as if no one had been in there for decades.  “Their CSI works in the basement? The place looks like it needs an exorcism.”

“Why does this place look so familiar?”  Sam spoke up and watched as Dean just brushed it off, turned the car around and headed out towards the Bed and Breakfast.  That all too familiar deja vu feeling hit him hard as they pulled up behind several cars on the small gravel turn around and looked at the while and red painted Colonial.  Sam smiled at one of the cars that sat before them. “Check that out.”

“Classy car,” Dean replied as he cut the engine and both of them stepped up to the black 2010 Mustang GT that sat just off to the side of the drive, out of the way enough for people to drive through but ready to go if it needed to make a fast getaway.  “Best thing I’ve seen in town yet.”

“That kind of car all the way out here, and not even a pit from the rocks.”  Sam smiled as he got down close to the lower panels, checking out the paint job.

“Dude, check out the plate,” Dean grinned; his eyes filled a “you have got to be kidding” smile.  Sam stepped back and looked down at the orange and black New York Plates that had six simple letters. DED BDY.  

“Must belong to our CSI,” Sam grinned and turned towards the house.

“Or one morbid son of a bitch,”  Dean laughed and the two of them took the four steps up to the front door, pulled open the screen and stepped into the foyer, one big enough to be the lobby of a small hotel.  The dark-haired woman with deep, thoughtful eyes sat behind the desk, tapping away on her computer as she looked up and smiled at them. “Ah, hi,” Dean said casually and took out his badge.  “I’m Agent Palmer, this is Agent Walsh. It’s going to sound funny but the Sheriff sent us out this way to speak to…”

“BECCA!” Another female voice echoed through the house, interrupting Dean, and the woman behind the counter’s smile grew as she glanced up the curved staircase.  Both Dean and Sam turned to watch a pair of legs in skinny jeans and work boots start to make their way down. “REBECCA MARSHALL!”

When she cleared the landing, both boys found themselves staring at a petite woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes, and jeans that met up with a low-cut black shirt with long ribbed sleeves that fit tight against her form as she slipped on a dark-gray, zip-up hoodie.

“Oh, sorry,” she smiled at them, catching each of them in her eyes before she turned to Becca.  “Have you seen my keys?”

“Yeah, you left them on the table, which is exactly what I told you not to do when you got home from work last night.”  Becca, the woman behind the counter scolded but the new arrival didn’t answer, she just raised her eyebrows.

“And?”  She questioned before a grin crossed her face.

“I think these two are looking for you,” Becca laughed, watching her glance at the guys once again.  “Agent Palmer, Agent Walsh, this is Elisabeth…”

“Oh, crap, hang on,” Bethson put up one finger, pulled her phone from her pocket and put it to her ear.  “Peterson.” Dean smiled as he heard her growl, watching as Sam shifted strangely, like the sound affected him in some primal way.  “It’s my day off…Seriously, call Martin…” She paused for a minute, turned towards them, rolled her eyes and mouthed the word: “asshole” which got a small chuckle from Sam.  “Yeah, whatever, I’ll be there in ten.” Elizabeth slipped the phone in her pocket and walked passed them. “Ah, look, guys, I’m really sorry, but I have to jet because my boss is a dick.”

“Beth!”  Becca snapped and Elizabeth winked, she grabbed the black, heavy duty Dickies coat from the hanger and slipped it on.

“Ah, have Becca give you my number.”  She smiled and reached for the door handle.

“ELIZABETH!”  Becca snapped and watched her turn, just in time to snatch the car keys, ones Becca freely tossed without much notice, out of the air.  Dean wanted to whistle but he just pursed his lips. “When are you coming home?”

“Depends on the body count!”  She hollered back as the door closed behind her.  

Sam and Dean looked at each other, completely taken by the interaction that they had just seen and then they listened to the distinct sound of that Mustang’s engine roar in the driveway.

“Wait, she’s the CSI?”  Sam questioned and stepped over to the window to watch the black car zip out of the drive.

“Yeah,” Becca laughed and looked at the two of them.  “So, here’s her number,” she slid Dean the card with the cell number on it and smiled.  “Are you guys sticking around for a few days? We have a few open rooms, or one, whichever you’re interested in.”

Dean knew just what she was getting at and pointed his finger between him and Sam, shaking his head. “We’ll take two rooms.”

“Do you know who just called her?”  Sam inquired, watching Dean filled out the paperwork.

“Well if she needed to be there in ten, probably the Coroner or the Sheriff,” Becca shrugged.  “Hang on,” she picked up the phone and dialed, pulled the receiver away from her ear as the sound of Styx blasted thought he earpiece and Dean smiled. “Hey, snot for brains, want to turn it down?”  The volume lowered and Becca placed it back against her ear. “The Agents want to know if you got something they should be in on.” Becca made faces as she listened and then jotted down instructions on a piece of paper.  “Okay, I will send them out that way,” she nodded and Dean watched her face begin to grow flush. “I certainly will not tell them that! That can be all you! Bye Beth.”

Becca placed the scrap of paper on the counter, a smile widening on her face as she looked back and forth between them.  Sam caught onto her strange grin but Dean was just happy that he was getting the attention.

“What did she say?”  Sam smiled, stepping up to the counter.

Becca took a deep breath, and composed herself.  “She said and I quote, but don’t tell her I actually told you, “I’m headed to a bloody scene, give the agents my addy, and tell them both they have great asses”.” Becca put her hands up as to say she was just the messenger and watched as Dean gave a chuckle, shaking his head. “So please, enjoy our little town.  The address she gave me is about four miles south of here, which means you would go out, take a left and just look for the lights. As for Beth, I can’t help you there.”

“She’s pretty unconventional, isn’t she?”  Sam watched the expression on Becca’s face.

“She’s pretty something,” the woman laughed, “although, I’m not sure if that particular word even starts to cover it.”  Dean gave her back the registration forms and she put them on the desk. “Whenever you get back, I can show you to your rooms, and if you’re hungry, I can save you dinner.  We also have pie.”

“Pie?”  Dean smiled and glanced at Sam.  “You said the magic word.”

“I’ll save you some, but you better hurry if you want to catch up with Beth, she’s pretty quick at her job.”  Becca smiled and watched the two men walk away, admiring exactly what Beth had commented on earlier.

 

Sam sat in the seat shaking his head and suddenly he turned to look at Dean.  “I know I have seen her before.”

“Becca?”  Dean questioned.

“Beth…Elizabeth,” Sam sighed, rubbing his temple with his finger. “Her eyes are intense.”

“Okay, so what…you think something else besides bodies is going on up here?”  Sam watched out at the passing trees but the faces he was making lead Dean to believe something else was up. “Talk to me, man.”

“Let’s get down to the scene and see what they have.” Sam turned towards him for just a moment. “The Beth thing we can figure out later, since you booked us rooms at her house.”

 

It was about four miles down the road, the boys came upon the flashing lights of three cruisers and a black Mustang with its trunk open and the lower half of a certain woman bent over in the headlights of the Impala.  Dean slapped Sam on the arm as found his younger brother staring in admiration. This was something Dean usually did, so he found it hard to believe that he was the one snapping Sam out of it. Beth stood, turned and finished zipping up the navy blue jumper as she smiled at the men who stepped out of the now quiet car.

“So, you got my message,” she grinned but looked them over, “but I’m going to assume you didn’t get all of it.”

“We got an address, what was the rest of it?”  Sam grinned and Dean couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.  His brother was practically glowing, which was odd for Sam even on his “I need to get laid” days. 

“Your suits,” she winked, “you might want to get out of them if you got something else, it’s pretty bad down there and muddy.”

Dean started back to the trunk of the car where he had stashed his jeans and began to change as Sam stood there, hands in his pockets and watched her place things in a duffel bag.  That was when he noticed the box in her trunk, and the not so hidden weapon under the blanket.

“Do you hunt?”  He questioned, and watched her stiffen before she cleared her throat and turned to face him.

“Deer sometimes,” she replied and tilted her head just a bit to look up into his eyes, “you?”

“Bears mostly,” Sam answered and watched as her face filled with acknowledgment and she nodded.

“Neat.” Beth turned and grabbed the bag, glanced at Dean who was now wearing jeans and boots, and watched as Sam made his way to the back of the Impala.  Dean observed the way her smiled faded while her eyes followed his brother and he zippered the coat over his shirt, which caught her attention. “So Palmer and Walsh, right?  I didn’t catch first names.”

“Dean Palmer,” he said, giving her a half smile and with his thumb he gestured behind him, “Sam Walsh.”

“Hmm,” she smiled, swinging the bag over her shoulder as Sam walked back towards her and Dean caught her stare before she winked at Dean. “Elizabeth Peterson, but you can call me Beth.”  Sam zipped up his coat and put his hands in his pockets. “This way, Gentlemen.”

 

Beth led them down an embankment, holding the bag and the trees as she sidestepped through the rocks and uneven roots that made up the hill.  Dean took his time, making sure that his boots hit solid ground before taking the next step but it also made Sam keep back and Dean felt his little brother lean over towards his ear.

“I think she’s a hunter,” Sam whispered, voicing his suspicions.

“Her?” Dean smiled, “she’s five-foot-nothing and probably one-twenty soak and wet.”

“She has a crossbow in the trunk of her car,” Sam pointed out which made Dean shoot a peek back at him.  

“Sexy,” the older one grinned and watched as they got closer to the bottom. Beth glanced back at them as they stepped onto solid ground and smiled, not more than two hundred feet in front of them was the scene.  “Okay, not so sexy.”

Everything that used to be green and lush was now the color of blood for what looked like a good five feet around the body.  The victim himself was splayed out like a dinner, his arms and legs out wide, which made Beth stop for a moment and drop her bag.  She looked back at the boys, she bit her bottom lip with a look of contemplation in her eyes and Sam tried to hide how that cute little gesture made his insides warm.

Dean watched as she put on gloves that she pulled from the bag and handed a pair to each of them, in case they wanted to join, before she crossed under the yellow tape.  Both of them were intrigued by the fact that she didn’t even wince at the sight of the blood, or the fact that everything that was supposed to be inside the body was now on the outside.  She waved to the guy with the camera, went about setting out different numbers, gave some strict instructions and moved back towards them.

“That’s it?”  Sam asked and Beth smiled.

“If you know what you’re looking at,” she answered and stepped up beside him, peeling the bloody gloves from her hands.  “Same MO as the other three, no blood in the body, all the parts have been removed and placed on the outside of the cavity, and the blood, what’s left, generally looks like it exploded outwards in a pattern that would make you think this guy got ganked from behind with some sort of leaf blower.”

Dean leaned back, just out of Beth’s line of sight and his eyes met Sam’s with a look of total uncertainty as he mouthed the word “ganked” to his younger sibling.  Sam raised his eyebrows as if to tell him “see I told you” but neither exchanged any words.

“A leaf blower?” Dean repeated. “Seriously?”

“If the guy had a hole in his back for it, yeah,” Beth grabbed her bag, tossed the gloves on the ground and looked over at Dunham.  “Send it to my lab Sheriff, the body too.”

“Sure thing, Peterson!”  The roly-poly cop replied and Beth started to make her way up the hill, with the “Feds” in tow.

 

Once at the top, Beth plopped the bag back in the car, and turned to the men standing behind her, but Dean had seen what Sam mentioned and his eyes stared her down with uncertainty.  She unzipped the overalls and shimmed out of them as they stood there, her shirt and jeans underneath and tossed it in the back of the car as well before she slipped on her coat and gave each of them a smile.

“So, I’m going to assume you came here for the bodies and you need to look at the files,” she shrugged as she grabbed the keys out of her coat pocket and watched them nod.  “Okay, follow me and I’ll show you where the magic happens.”

Sam rolled his eyes, closing them for just a second as the strange signals his body sent off skyrocketed and Dean slapped him on the arm.  Beth chuckled and walked towards the front of the car as Sam and Dean headed for the Impala.

“Dude,” Dean shrugged, “what the hell?”

“I don’t know,” Sam whispered through his clenched teeth and opened the door, sliding into the seat as Dean started the engine.  “I don’t get it! It’s like my body knows her and everything she says and does just makes it worse.”

“There is definitely something funky with this town,” Dean acknowledged and whipped the car around to follow the zippy black Mustang up the road.  

Beth drove like Dean and it wasn’t hard to keep up, both of them were lead foots with no care in the world. When they pulled over in front of the library, Beth took the keys and unlocked the hand-crafted, heavy wooden door.  She watched as Sam and Dean followed her in, no questions asked and glanced around as she flipped on the lights.

“As you can see, we’re a small town, so library upstairs,” she smiled as she looked lovingly at the books, “not that it’s been used in years except by me, and my very own office down in the creepy-ass basement.”

Dean laughed as she led them down the flight of stairs, to the landing where she flipped a large breaker switch and illuminated the open floor plan.  They made their way to the bottom of the last flight and Beth turned to them, opening her arms.

“Walla, we have our CSI stations over to the right and our autopsy to the left,” Dean went right for the CSI equipment and Beth watched as Sam took his time moving further into the room, looking over everything with careful eyes.  “You strike me as the intellectual type, not unlike your brother over there.”

Sam stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her, watching the knowing grin that crossed her face while she turned and headed towards the cooler part of the room, where the sterile table sat under the bright fluorescent lights.  Sam cautiously followed; his hands still in his pockets but the knowledge that the Colt was tucked behind his shirt gave him a little more courage.

“How did you know?” He tested her.  

“Simple enough, you two look like each other and I know way too much about classic rock to know that Steve Walsh and Robert Palmer are in no way, shape or form involved in the FBI,” she opened a cabinet, a refrigerator actually and pulled out a soda, “want something?”

Sam refrained the best he could from repeating the “I want you” thoughts that reverberated through his skull and simply shook his head.

“So you know we’re not Feds,” Sam shrugged, watching her nod, “then why bring us to the scene?”

“They’re the best fake badges I’ve seen in a while,” she grinned, hopping up on the counter.  With a look to her right, she watched as Dean touched just about everything he could get his hands on.  “And no one hunts bears up here.”

“That obvious?”  Sam let his own lips curl up in a small grin as he stepped closer.  “What about you? The last I heard there isn’t a crossbow season for deer.”

“Actually, they changed that, but you have to have a special license,” she pointed out, taking another sip from the Coke bottle.

“So hunting, just a hobby or the family business?”  This was the question that he was waiting to ask and he watched as the smile faded from her face.  She put the bottle on the counter and shrugged her shoulders. 

“Let’s just say Becca is the only family I have left,” she answered and listened to the buzz from the back door.  “Oh good, saved by the bell.”

“Good show,” Dean spoke up from across the room.

Sam followed Beth to the back staircase, where she hit a button and watched as the hatchway above opened and a metal elevator waited.  He heard two knocks and she hit the green button, lowering it until it was flat against the ground, it was just a platform that the gurney was placed on and two EMTs wheeled the body over, putting the bag down on the exam table and waved at her without a word.  The platform went up and Beth stepped over to the cabinet.

“So, Sam…whatever your last name really is…want to help?”  Beth held up a paper gown to cover his clothes with and he debated a moment before he reached out and took it from her, removing his coat.  “You might wanna put the gun on the counter too, sometimes the cold air in here can make a gun’s firing pin a little wonky.”

He was amazed at her observation skills and placed it down on the counter as they both gowned up, pulled on gloves, goggles and masks before stepping up to the table. She pulled over a tray and a click on the recorder above her head, unzipped the bag and folded it away from the body.  Sam winced a little, not at the smell but at the sight.

“Yeah, it never gets easier,” Beth looked up at him over the mask, “that makes you human, Sam.”  

Beth turned her head to the body, cutting away the rest of the black bag and Sam watched with interest as she let her hand hover just above the cold skin of the shell that lay before her.  He watched stepped all the way down and around, not touching but naming off things into the microphone that she had attached to the gown. 

In an instant she stopped, just in front of Sam, who took a step backwards, getting a better view of the open gown from behind and let his eyes wander down the length of her body. His heart skipped in his chest and he closed his eyes tightly for only a moment before letting out a breath.  When he looked again she was on the other side, staring up at him as both hands were now grasping the tear in the man’s chest.

“You kosher?”  She whispered, and his stomach did another flop but he nodded and watched her cheeks rise just under the mask.  She was smiling at him and he felt like a complete idiot. “Okay, let’s open him up.” He listened to her clear her throat, tilt the camera and use her pointer finger to follow the jagged line down. “Vertical incision from the larynx to the groin, jagged in nature, not made by a knife or any other tool.”

“What?”  Dean questioned as he walked over and stopped a few feet from the table, not wanting to get any closer without protection.

“Whoever did this to him did it with their hands.” Beth looked up to make sure she had their attention.  “Fingers dug in here,” she placed hers within a larger, deeper part of the tear, knuckles deep, “And then moved both upwards and downwards at the same time.” She demonstrated as she moved her fingers along the tear.  “You can’t just open a cavity with one simple line so when they got to the end, they yanked, and we get the horizontal openings at each end.”

Beth flopped the piece of skin over either side and watched as Dean covered his mouth, turned and walked away but Sam stood fascinated, not at the body but at her.  Beth reached over the other side and moved that flap of skin as well.

“The rib cage has been cracked wide open, busting the sternum, turning it upwards towards the skull to move the ribs out of the way.”  She reenacted it with ease, her eyes trained on Sam’s and she reached in, taking out the biohazard bag full of insides that she put in a small steel bin.  “The cavity was then cleaned out. How they got the blood spray to move in that kind of pattern is beyond me because there isn’t any other injuries to note.  This guy was basically walked up to; hands thrust in, and ripped open.”

“Anything missing?”  Sam questioned and watched as she turned to the bio bag, wheeled the bin to the scale and one by one, started to weigh what was in it, placing it in another bag when she was done.  Everything seemed to check out, everything weighed what it was supposed to but she stopped when she reached the bottom.

“The liver,” she shrugged, “it’s the only part not here.”

“So it had liver for lunch?”  Dean questioned from across the room.

“From this guy, yeah,” she answered, tied up the bag containing the parts and put it back in the cavity, where she closed him up and wheeled it towards the large door by the platform.  Sam and Dean followed as she slipped in with the corpse. Three more bodies lay under white cloths and she removed the bloody gloves after placing number four in the corner. “Body number one, we have a name but we just call him by numbers until someone reports them missing.  He was missing his gallbladder, number two, his small intestines, three, the pancreas and now four, the liver.”

“So it’s not just taking the same part?”  Sam questioned and watched her nod, pulling an empty steel gurney out with her. 

When it was locked in place, Beth removed the rest of the protective equipment and tossed it in the trash.  She donned clean gloves and bleached down everything she had used, disposing of the biohazard bag in the bin. Beth watched as Sam pulled at the gown and smiled.  She tossed the gloves, walked up behind him and undid the knot he had so skillfully put in the tie. She felt him shiver as her fingers skimmed the back of his neck.

“No, not the same body part at all,” she walked back over to the counter, washed her hands and hopped back up to grab her soda before turning towards them.  “The thing is, I’m not sure if what’s doing this is collecting it, or eating it.”

“Wait, eating it?”  Dean raised a hand, took it in for a second and glanced at Sam.

“She’s a hunter,” Sam replied and Dean just shook her head.

“And you work in a “creepy-ass” basement?”  The older of the two questioned her, watching Beth smile as she enjoyed his expressions.  

“It’s hard to explain,” Beth emptied the rest of the soda in the sink, washed out the bottle and left it there before she walked over to the chair where she had dropped her coat, this time on the CSI side of the room.  The monitors all popped to life as she typed in the passcode and the boys watched as different photographs all appeared before them, from multiple scenes. “Every one of them is the same, the same position, the same blood spatter patterns, the same “here’s dinner” presentation, the only difference is the stolen part.”

“Sounds like ritual magic,” Sam shrugged which made Beth turn in her seat, smiling. 

“That’s what I thought too, but you can’t voice that around here without getting someone’s unwanted attention.”  Beth rolled the chair down to the last computer, a laptop that she had hooked to her system and pulled up a bunch of old and odd pages.  “This is the assumed Book of the Damned.”

“It isn’t assumed,” Sam muttered and watched as she turned towards him, “it is the book, we’ve seen it.”

“Okay, so maybe you would know this tasty little morsel of information,” she stopped on a spell and turned watched him stare at the screen.  “It’s not just for demons and releasing the devil from hell, and if you are who I think you are, good job with the Darkness.” She watched as their faces became stark white, smiled and continued.  “Anyway, the book contains a spell that would call down gods more powerful than any _ living _ person has seen in eons.  The main ingredients…”

“Our missing body parts,” Sam sighed.

“Bingo,” Beth’s smile faded from her voice and she hopped down from the chair.  “If we have someone summoning Gods, they’re not playing around. This spell is aiming for the big guns, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, and if we go bigger, Titans.”

“Seriously, like in Hercules?”  Dean squinted at the screen.

“Yeah, just not the Disney version of it,” Beth picked up her coat and headed towards the stairs.  “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.”

Dean watched as Sam bound up the steps after her but something in the way this was all playing out, struck Dean as awfully familiar and he was beginning to understand why Sam was confused about who Beth really was.

“Hey, Kid,” Dean spoke up, and again she turned to look at him.

“What did you call me?” Beth whispered, but it wasn’t like she was offended as her eyes settled on his.  

“Kid?”  Dean repeated and watched as her lips drew into a straight line.  “You okay, Beth?”

“It’s going to sound way out there but I swear I remember being called that in the very same voice,” she replied, confused, “but I’ve never been called it before.”

“Hmm,” the noise Sam made caught their attention and as both Dean and Beth looked over, he smiled.  “It’s been happening to me since we rolled into town.”

“But you guys have never been here before,” Beth smiled.

“How do you know?”

“Trust me, Sam, the two of you roll into town and heads are going to turn,” the grin on her face as she looked up at him turned sly and she continued the trip to the first floor.

Sam and Dean walked slower, keeping behind her.  

“She admitted she was a hunter, knew about my gun, knows about the Darkness,” Dean shook his head.  

“Who the hell is she?”

“Apparently someone we’re supposed to meet,” Sam sighed and watched as she disappeared into a row of books.  “Coincidences don’t just happen to us, Dean.”

“I know,” he drew in a deep breath and looked around the stack of books.  “This reminds me of Bobby’s house.”

“Well, let’s see what she can tell us.”  Sam headed off to find Beth, and with Dean trailing behind, he found her sitting cross-legged on one of the sturdy hardwood tables.  Sam’s breath caught, as the sun reflected in through the window and images of the two of them together flashed through his memories. He shook his off, easier said than done and approached.  “Any clue on the monster that’s doing the rip and shred?”

“Actually, the blood pattern and the bodies are the biggest clue,” she replied, glancing up but not picking her head up from the book.  Sam slid up on the table beside her, close enough so that her knee touched his leg and Beth was the one who had to catch her breath this time.  “Greek Mythology,” she laughed and held the book up so he could see, the nervousness obvious in her voice.

“What does Greek Mythology have to do with the Book of the Damned?”  Sam questioned, unsure of what she was getting at. “Aside from the spell you found.”

“I don’t know anything else except it was written in Sumerian about seven centuries ago, it has a spell for everything, and every God,” she watched as Sam’s brow creased as he took in the information.  “Basically, the book is one big summoning spell rolled up into a neat little package. Greek Mythology is one of the oldest belief systems in the world, and in the book is a way to summon, control and hold the Gods to do your bidding, you just need…”

“The right ingredients,” Sam finished.  Beth handed him the book and he looked down at the picture. “So this is an Empusa?”  The drawing depicted a woman with a tantalizing figure but her hair was fire, her hands clawed, with rows of sharpened teeth, but she had bat wings coming out of her back. “Nice.”

“Yeah, it just gets better,” Beth winked as she took the book back and turned a few pages. “According to the mythology an Empusa is often depicted as a beautiful woman, who transforms into a creature with sharp teeth, flaming hair, and sometimes bat wings who often seduces young men traveling alone. Once the unsuspecting man is fast asleep, the creature would shift to her hideous form and devour the boy's flesh and drink his blood for sustenance.  She is a demigoddess under Hecates and is associated with crossroads and entrance ways.”

“Crossroads?”  Sam stopped for a moment and turned to look out the window at the very center of town.

“Among other things.”  She handed him back the book and watched as he scanned it over.

“This says the Empusa devours human flesh and blood, but nothing about missing parts.”  Sam looked at her questioningly.

“Not from the flesh on the outside,” Beth replied and hoped down from the table. “We should get home.  Becca gets a little testy if you miss dinner.” But Sam just watched her face change as she finished her sentence.  “Strange how normal that sounds when I say it to you.”

“Your whole town is giving me that “I’ve been here before” feeling, Beth.” Sam sighed.  “Even the Greek stuff, it’s like a path.”

“We chose our own paths, Sammy.”  She laughed and winked at him.

Sam opened his mouth to yell after her, to tell her his usual line, but he just smiled and watched her go, turning his sight on Dean, who was giving him a sly grin from where he stood.  His shoulder was against the shelf, arms crossed and the tip of his left boot to the floor.

“No “don’t call me Sammy”, or “it’s Sam”?” Dean questioned and stepped up to him.

“Actually, the way she said it, I’ve heard that before.  Her tone, her voice saying my name.” Sam grabbed a piece of paper and slipped it into the spot, closing the book.

“You’ve heard it?”  Dean looked at him in disbelief, but then the shit-eating grin formed.  “Oh, Sammy, oh…yes,” Dean teased as Sam hopped down. Dean followed him out as Sam walked down the rows of books making odd noises with his name mixed in before Sam turned and faced Dean.

“Dude,” Dean stopped talking and grinned widely, “seriously?”

“What?”  The older brother laughed as he patted his brother on the back and they walked together.  “I’ve just never seen you flustered over a girl before.”

“I can’t help it, but I feel like we’ve met before,” Sam glanced around before settling his eyes on the woman waiting at the door.

“Okay, don’t stress yourself about it,” Dean joked, “you’ll pop a brain cell or something.  Let’s go have dinner and maybe something will come up.”

 

Sam watched the black Mustang pull into the gravel road, rolling slowly over the rocks, trying not to kick any up at the Impala behind her.  Once there, she parked and popped the trunk, grabbing the overalls out as she smiled and watched them both step out of the car.

“Did I mention how much I love your car?”  Beth said as she tossed the keys up in the air and caught them several times.

“This is my Baby.”  Dean said proudly and watched as her fingertips glided over the hood.  

He looked up at Sam, who stood with his hands in his pockets admiring the way she moved before he glanced up as Dean was biting down on his finger because apparently a woman stroking his car made him hot.  Sam just shook his head, not sure if he was upset with Dean’s gesture or if he was amused by it. Beth turned back towards them.

“Sweet ride.”  She winked and the three of them moved up to the door but the beginning of “Enter Sandman” rang from Beth’s pocket and she gestured for the boys to go in as she pulled it out and placed it to her ear.

Dean went inside and Sam watched as Beth paced the wrap around porch.  She saw the six foot man observing her movements and gestured to the wicker chair beside him, pointing for him to have a seat. Sam sat down and watched as she leaned against the railing and put the phone on speaker.

“Martin!” She hollered over the rambling that came from the phone.  “Listen, shut up for a minute,” the voice quieted down, “I’m here with Sam Walsh, the Fed I told you about in town,” she smiled, “tell me what you just said again, and this time in English, preferably so I can understand it.”

“The fed is there, Jesus, Peterson.”  Martin bitched and Sam’s grin widened.  “Okay, so forensics came back on our first three vics.  They all had elevated levels of pheromones, which usually fade after you die but this was still pumping through them.”

“Where did you get the blood from?”  Sam questioned. Beth was impressed.

“We took it subclavicular, best thing to do post mortem.”  Martin answered and paused, “anyway, this specific pheromone should have dissipated well before we even made it to the lab.”

“So they were all high?”  Beth asked.

“Not high,” the guy on the other end laughed, “turned on.”

“What?”  Sam sat forward unsure of what his ears had heard.

“Whatever ate them made sure they were feeling pretty fine as they shredded them,” Martin sighed.  “Can I go now? I already emailed all this info and the pictures over to your lab.”

“Yeah, have a great night,” she laughed, “and thanks.”

“Whatever,” and the phone disconnected.

“So our little Empusa can also make your hormones shift,” Beth raised an eyebrow.  “Wonderful.”

“A demigoddess with a taste for blood, flesh and horny men?”  One side of Sam’s lip turned up in a sarcastic grin. “Let’s make sure to keep Dean inside for the night.”

“Hmm,” she grinned as she walked by, “not the one I pictured out of the two of you having an issue.”

“What?”  Sam stood and followed her into the building.  

She looked up at him, set her overalls on the floor behind the counter and gestured for him to follow as the entered the dining room.  Dean sat at the table, beer in hand as he and Becca laughed while sitting at one end of the table. Dean kicked out a chair, one that had a beer waiting by the plate and Sam took it gratefully.

Beth took the seat across from him and watched as Becca brought out the meatloaf, potatoes and green bean casserole from the kitchen.  The boys dug in as Beth sat quiet, watching the two of them with interest but trying not to stare. Becca kicked her leg under the table as the blue-eyed woman picked up the glass of ice water in front of her.

“You gonna eat?”  Becca asked quietly and both Sam and Dean continued with dinner but looked on at the two women. Beth looked over the food, smiled at her friend and shook her head. “Beth, seriously.”

“Bec, not now.”  It was the first time since that morning that any of them had seen such a serious look on the woman’s face and Becca sat back, picked up her fork and dug into her food.  Sam wiped his mouth with the napkin and picked up the beer, which gave him a good excuse to make eye contact with the woman across from him. Beth tipped her glass at him and took a sip of the water before she pushed her chair back.  “Excuse me.”

Becca sighed as her friend walked into the kitchen, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds before picking up the fork again.  Dean, who had finished his second helping, picked up his plate and silverware, excused himself and headed for the same spot as Beth.  

He stopped a few feet behind her and watched as she downed the shot of whiskey, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she let the burning feeling slide down her throat.

“You know you should never drink alone,” Dean stated as he placed the plate in the sink, and watched as Beth glanced over him, setting the shot glass down.

“I’m not drinking,” she mumbled and corked the bottle once again, sliding it back on the shelf.  Dean stepped up to her, scanned over the features of her face and reached out to push a loose lock of hair from in front of her eyes.  

“Yeah, that’s what I tell myself too.”  He shrugged, turning away from her. Dean was going to walk away but he stopped, glanced up at the ceiling and felt that part of his conscious pulling at him.  With a few simple steps, he found himself facing her once more. “How long have you been alone in this?”

“Hunting or CSI?”  Beth questioned.

“Both?”  He didn’t distinguish the two, she was still doing either job all the time. Beth gave out one little grunt of a laugh and pulled the bottle back out from the wall, pouring herself another drink, but instead of tipping it down, she handed it to Dean.

“Fifteen years.” She answered and watched him take it.  Dean licked his lips, a small gesture but Beth found something about it strangely enticing and she leaned back against the counter, watched him down the shot and he coughed as it went down harder than he thought it would.  “See, that’s why I don’t drink.”

“What is that stuff? Gasoline?” Dean choked and Beth laughed.

“A bottle of my father’s favorite crap whiskey, probably the cheapest thing they had fifteen years ago.” Beth stated picking it up as she looked at the label. 

“That thing is fifteen years old?”  Dean’s voice was horse from the burning.

“Give or take,” she whispered and placed it back down on the counter.  She patted him on the back as he leaned down and placed his hands on his knees.  “Deep breath, Dean and save room for pie.”

Becca walked in as Beth stepped out of the kitchen.  She looked down at Dean as he groaned and looked up. 

“You actually took something that woman handed you and drank it?” Becca questioned with made Dean lowered his head once again, giving a little nod.  “Wow! That stuff could kill a full grown moose and here you are diving right in.” Becca rubbed his back for a minute until he was able to stand straight and catch his breath.  “It’s lethal, isn’t it?”

“How can she drink that on an empty stomach?”  Dean whispered, and watched as Becca put several plates in the sink.  From where he stood he could see Beth now sitting at the table picking at the meatloaf on her plate, taking it apart as she smiled across the way to Sam.  

“She’s been doing it for years, but only once or twice a month.  It’s something her father did, some strange tradition but I think tonight it was because of you and Sam.”  She answered, rinsing of the dishes but she winked at him. “Not in a bad way, she’s been searching for other hunters for years.  I think finally finding out that she wasn’t alone in the world, that there were others of you out there hunting things, made her just want to give one up for the old man.”

“How did he die?”  Dean whispered, stepping closer so he wouldn’t disturb the two in the other room.

“They’re not sure,” she replied with honesty.  “Well, Beth isn’t sure, the police said it was a…get this…a bear.”

Dean just rolled his eyes and grabbed the hand towel from the rack as she handed him one of the wet, clean plates.  Dean began to dry as she handed them off and the two of them started a rhythm and a conversation that went on about nothing, steering clear away from monsters.

 

Sam watched her with fascination as she sat with one foot up on the chair, the other crossed underneath it and used the fork to pull tiny bite-sized pieces from the meat in front of her.  Beth looked up as she grabbed one of them between her fingers and popped it in her mouth, smiling as she did her best to eat with him watching.

“I know, not exactly the way a lady would eat,” she whispered and watched as Sam crossed his arms, setting them on the table and he leaned forward.

“I’ve never been much on etiquette,” he smiled warmly, which only got a small giggle from the woman across from him.  “I don’t know what it is about you.”

“I’m a certifiable nutcase,” she answered and peeked up from the plate.  “Maybe you’re attracted to lunatics.”

“Are you one?”  He watched her head slowly move, as their eyes locked.  “So, if you’re not one, then I’m not attracted to them, just you.”  Beth’s face flushed and she put her feet down on the floor. Sam sat back in shock that those words had even left his mouth.  “I’m sorry, sometimes my mouth forgets it’s not supposed to say whatever’s on my mind.”

“You’re not forgiven,” Beth shrugged, and Sam expression made her grin, “I happen to like when men speak their minds, especially if someone like you says something like that.”

“So, you’re not going to slap me?”

Beth leaned over the table, pushing the plate out of her way so that their conversation was really just between them. “Are you saying you like it rough?”

“Ah,” Sam was pretty surprised at the direction this was suddenly going and Beth sat back in her chair, the look on her face hadn’t change.

“Relax, Sam, I’m not going to bite you.”  She pulled the plate back and picked at it again.  “So you’re the brains and he’s the brawny, say anything guy?”

“Most of the time,” Sam shrugged.  

“He gets the girls?”

“Most of the time,” he repeated and Beth raised her eyebrows.

“Not this time,” her bright blue eyes went from focusing on the plate to locking onto his in just seconds but Sam could feel them penetrating him.  “Becca,” Beth yelled, not releasing him, “dinner was delicious but I think I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Seriously,” the woman in the kitchen yelled, and poked her head around the corner, “not alone I hope.”

“No,” Sam spoke up, breaking the gaze as he looked at Becca, “I’m going to go with her.  We’ve got some details of the case to go over.”

“Ah-ha,” Becca nodded, giving them both a questioning look before she stopped at Beth.  “Bring protection.”

Sam coughed on his water as Beth smiled and Becca laughed her way back to the sink. Sam stood, following her as she moved in silence and observed as she unlocked what looked like the average wooden bench, one that someone would store winter coats or some other sort of unneeded clothing in, but what she pulled out was a quiver and a crossbow.

Sam’s expression told her everything she needed to know about the weapon, it was something he had seen before.  She grabbed her coat from the rack, slipping it on, hooked the quiver to her belt and slung the strap of the bow over her shoulder before she opened the door. Sam drew in a deep breath and glanced once more through the dining room before moving with her out into the fading sunlight.

They walked past the house down the well-worn path that lead around the large field that the house stood in the middle of, but the way they moved was unhurried as Beth scanned the tree belt.  Sam, whose legs weren’t used to slowly down, found himself swaying to keep her pace, as if he were a race car weaving behind the pacer in some Nascar event.

“This is killing you, isn’t it?” Beth grinned and looked up at him as Sam’s eyes watched the ground before him.  She could see the side of his lip turn up as he nodded. “We could walk faster but you’d have to carry me home.”

“I’m pretty sure you could outrun me,” Sam answered, his comment filled with honesty.

“How do you know?”  Beth questioned and his gaze moved to her. “Is it just that feeling again?”

Sam gave a nod and brought his head up to look at the area around him.  “I don’t usually trust when I get these feelings, not because they’re wrong but because they lead to nothing good,” he turned his vision to her, “this time, I’m not afraid. They might be right, and you are someone that I’m supposed to know, but don’t.”

“Well, think of it this way,” her eyes moving over the terrain before settling on his, “you’re out here with me right now, not suspicious, not ready to grab the gun that is always by your side…what does that tell you?”

“I’m comfortable around you,” he stopped and turned to face her, “but Beth, people around me don’t always survive. Dean and I travel alone for a reason.”

“All hunters say that,” she shrugged, “my dad used to say that.” He watched the sadness fill her eyes as she swallowed back the emotions.  “We chase the darkness, the monsters under the beds, the things that go bump in the night and it puts those we love in the line of fire, even if they know how to fight it themselves,” she placed her hand on Sam’s chest, right above his heart, “but sometimes, you have to put your trust in other people, and pray that they are just as strong as you.”

Sam thought for a moment, wanting to believe her words as she patted him softly, the tips of her fingers tapping out the beat of his heart beneath them, before she let it slip across his body when she walked away.  He breathed in the cool air and closed his eyes. She was right. They had only ever trusted a select few and even they were gone now, so it was just Sam and Dean, they always had each other’s back, always fought for their family, so why was he fighting this feeling of Beth being part of that?

When Sam turned to follow her, Beth was nowhere to be seen.  The darkness had swallowed up the rest of the field, leaving him to see only a few yards in front of him, and as his eyes adjusted he could make out the lines of everything, except the woman he needed to see. His heart raced as he moved towards the direction she had stepped in but there was no clear line of sight.

A snap in the woods had him stop and he drew his gun, keeping it close as he moved silently over the twisted bushes and further into the darkness of the trees.  He scanned the area, found his feet moving as if they knew the place well and was surprised to find himself standing at a small shack just of the path where a stream flowed quickly by.

The sound of the water masked the vibrations in the air, but as the hair prickled up on the back of his neck, Sam knew something was wrong.  He turned in the spot only a few times, trying to get his directional bearings but found that he couldn’t make out a true northern direction, something that had never happened before but brought on an anxiety that he wasn’t accustomed to.  

One last turn put him face to face with a beautiful blonde woman, completely void of clothing but her face seemed strangely familiar, as with everything else in this odd town.  He tried to figure out who she looked like, who she reminded him of but as she reached up a hand, he found he really didn’t care. He could feel the blood rush to every spot on him that was sensitive to the touch, and she hadn’t even made physical contact.

The warmth and the rush made him close his eyes, against the will of his mind, but inside all he wanted to do was turn and run, in fact the hunter in him was screaming for him to move his ass, but his feet stayed planted firmly in that spot, until he heard a voice that broke every spell he was under.

“Hands off, bitch, that one’s mine!”  Beth growled and Sam’s eyes flew open just in time to see her fire off the crossbow from less than ten feet away.  The strange arrow pierced the demon with little resistant, the sharp iron tip dripped with the black blood of the monster and it turned to her furious.

Sam watched as it grew in feet, its skin grayed and became scaly as the arrow began to pulse a bright white light and as the flames set from its hair, the rows of sharp teeth that would have devoured him, roared at Beth.

“Oh, you just pissed of the wrong New Yorker!” She had reloaded and fired again hitting the same spot that the other protruded from and the fire died from its hair.  Sam moved to grasp Beth by the arm, a protective stance that had him pulling her against him as the light only brightened and both stepped back in unison.

The creature lunged, slashing Beth across the chest and Sam drew his gun firing several shots into the beast as it crumpled to the ground.  He stood above it, looking into the fading light of its eyes as his mouth curled in anger and he fired one last time.

Beth grabbed his arm, pulling him close as the monster went up in a ball of white light.  Sam held her tightly against him, his hands tussled in her hair as he shielded her face from the blinding explosion, but he felt her arms drop away and slowly he opened his eyes.  Beth’s lids were half closed as the blood seeped through her shirt, her knees giving way under her and Sam caught her up in his arms before she lost every ounce of strength. 

 

He clutched her to him as he made his way through the woods, the bow knocking against his leg and he could feel his hands becoming slippery from the blood that coated her back.  He was just coming out of the woods, from a trail just on the other side of the driveway when Dean and Becca made it off the porch. They had heard the shots and when Dean saw Sam, he quickly ran up to take the woman from him, but the look in Sam’s eyes was primal.

“I’m not going to hurt her, Sam, I swear,” Dean whispered and felt Sam release his forceful hold.  All three moved inside to the small bedroom off to the left, just passed the check in desk. It was a strange room, filled with medical supplies and a small white cot.  Dean looked around as Becca methodically grabbed things from the small bins that lined the shelves. “Does this happen often?”

“You’re a hunter,” Becca smiled, “you tell me.”

Becca sat beside the bed, took a pair of scissors and cut open the shirt on her friend, exposing her bra and Sam closed his eyes at the sight of the gashes in her chest.  She put a towel over them, pressing down to stop the bleeding and then prepared a spot to set up the sutures. 

Dean stood, moving out of the way and placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder, hoping he could ease the man’s pain but Sam wouldn’t move from the room even as Becca skillfully stitched her way through the ragged edges of the wounds.  Sam couldn’t shake the feeling that he had done that before, he had been the one that had taken care of just that same sort of thing.

Hours passed as Beth lay there, unmoving but breathing easy and when Becca finished, she pulled the warming blankets to Beth’s chest and stepped quietly up to Sam and started into his eyes.

“We just have to wait,” she spoke softly and watched him nod, but Sam moved passed her to sit on the floor beside the cot, one leg up as he rested his elbow on his knee, his eyes locked on Beth’s face.  Becca stepped out of the room, closing the door so that no one interrupted.

Sam’s head was back, his eyes closed but he could still sense everything in the room.  Slowly, he reached up, rubbed the dryness from them and turned his head to check on Beth.  Wide blue eyes greeted him and he scooted over to hover inches from her.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he spoke softly, moving the small strands of hair from her face.

“You saved my life,” she whispered, clearing her throat before she looked down at the bandage that covered her newly acquired scars, “I think we can call it even.”

“Sure, right after you explain something to me,” he smiled and watched her chest relax, as she breathed out slowly.

“Holy Hell, I think there’s a lot of things that need explaining,” she laughed but winced as she did so. 

“But the “you can’t have him, he’s mine” thing is my biggest question,” Sam’s voice floated over her like a warm shower and she couldn’t help herself.

“You’re going to question it?”  She asked, but watched him shake his head, “than what?”

“I was going to question why I swear I’ve heard you say it before, with just as much possessiveness.” The back of his fingers caressed down the side of her cheek an over her neck as she tried hard to keep her eyes locked on his.

“You are an inquisitive one, aren’t you, Sam Winchester?” She felt his hand stop and his eyes grow even more curious.

“I never told you my last name.”

“You never had too, I always knew it.”  She reached up and took his hand from her neck, wrapping her fingers around it the best she could. “Somewhere in the back of my mind, I have always known who you were.”

“A hunter?” Sam licked his lips, “A stranger, a gypsy in an Impala that fights things that shouldn’t exist.”

Beth gave two short grunts of laughter before her eyes drifted shut and she answered him with one word. “Mine.”

 

Sam paced the foyer, with his hands tented over his mouth, thinking, or praying, Dean wasn’t quite sure, but it had been going on for hours now.  He took a deep breath, and switched the leg he had been leaning on, but Sam paid no attention to the sighs that the older brother was giving him, at least not until Dean spoke up.

“You killed it?”  Sam turned to him, as if just becoming aware of his presence and nodded.  “You think it was the monster we were looking for?”

“I know it was,” Sam sighed and moved his hands to his pockets, the pacing continued.  

“So, that’s it, we move on same as always.” Which came out more of a statement but once again Dean found himself deep in the stare of the man before him and watched as Sam shook his head.

“I can’t,” Sam took in a deep breath.

“What do you mean you can’t?”  Dean was confused, and rightfully so.  This was their MO, this was  _ their  _ pattern. It was how they survived.

“I can’t leave without knowing everything, Dean.  This town, Beth, Becca, don’t you feel it? There is something more here, something we should remember, something we should know!”  Sam argued and watched as Dean’s lips tightened. “Tell me you don’t feel it, honestly.”

“I feel it,” he agreed but shrugged, “and it scare the hell out of me.”

“Why, because it’s new?” 

“Because we don’t know what it is, Sam.”  Dean stood straight and looked at him. “We don’t know if it’s a spell, or if we’ve got some happy-ass demon, or worse an angel gunning for our asses and this is the way they make us stay put, but throwing two women in our way and giving us strange feelings.”

“You have strange feelings?”  Sam watched as Dean shut down, he had said too much and that was just the way Dean was. No chick flick moments, no mushy feelings and hugging it out but Sam needed to know.  “Dean!”

“Okay,” he sighed, shaking his head, “but trust me, Sammy; you’re not going to like it.”

“Becca?”  Sam watched him shake his head, as Dean looked down at his boots.  “Beth?”

“Look, I can’t shake it,” the older brother growled, “but something about that girl has me on edge and not in a bad way.  I didn’t say anything because you were so caught up in her. I swear, Sam, I know her from somewhere, and it’s not a one-night stand.”

“You think you have feelings for her?”

“And you don’t?” He knew the question would get Sam pumped up but he wanted the truth and Dean found he couldn’t stop.  “We are knee deep in some scary crap. A girl we both know, both want and a place we’ve been to but have no memory of. What the hell, Sam?”

“Alight,” Sam nodded, wanting to work with his brother on this one, “say that what you’re suggesting is true.  We both know her, we both care, and somewhere along the line, we’ve all been here, but where _ is _ here?”

Dean ran his tongue over his lower lip as he thought but when he looked up his face went blank.  He was staring passed Sam at the woman standing in the doorway of the small room. She was upright and her eyes were glowing a bright blue.  Sam turned to see what his brother was so shocked over and when he did, his automatic response was to draw his gun but he never lifted it to aim.

“You’ve seen enough,” the voice that boomed from Beth’s lips was a mix of hers and a something more seductive.  “This is what I hoped for, and your bond because of it will be stronger.”

“You hope Dean and I would fall for the same woman?” Sam asked, and Dean reached out his arm, stopping the younger one from stepping closer.  

“Not that you would fall, but that you would remember you have fallen.”  

Dean shook his head. “Who are you?”  

“I am the Goddess, Hera, and in another timeline, you are exactly who you are now, two men with one mission, to protect Beth, to be her strength, to love her.”  The woman smiled.

“What are we doing here?”  Sam shrugged, looking around the house.  “Why put us all here if you weren’t going to let us remember anything.”

“Do you remember it all now, Sam?”  Hera asked but Sam shook his head. “Do you remember the feeling you get when you are close to her? The ache in your chest when you are not?  Do you remember the trust you put in your brother’s hands when he took her from you when her life was in danger?”

Sam looked over at Dean, whose expression told him that even if Sam didn’t remember, he did, and he saw the realization in Dean’s eyes.  Wherever they were, it didn’t matter because how they felt and who they felt it for was what was important.

“We need to get home,” Dean said sternly and looked at the woman before him.  “There’s something at home, Sam, something evil.”

“Dean, we don’t have a home,” Sam reminded him, but Dean grabbed his brother by the shirt and stared up into his eyes.

“This place, not this building, not this time, but this place is home…Baby, Beth, Becca…home.”  

Dean said the last word slowly and everything rushed at Sam as if he were moving backwards through time, but when he stopped he found himself two steps from the top of the staircase, looking up at Beth, whose eyes were their normal bright blue.  She leaned down, placed a hand against his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips.

The warmth was overwhelming, it was as if there were nothing in the world that could change what he felt for her, and suddenly everything came flying at him.

 

Sam found himself standing in the middle of the field, but behind him he could hear the screams of other people.  In front of him he could see the creature, the same one that he had met in the woods, blonde beautiful and dangerous.   Dean’s words called out to him, telling him to move away, to get out of the shot. He heard “Sammy” loudly, as if it pierced his brain but all he could see was the creature in front of him.

It was then that he heard it, the click as the string locked into place, but his eyes were still trained on the woman in front of him, unable to break away from her trance.  He could almost hear her breath in, not the creature but the woman he had come to know every inch of and his sights moved passed the thing in front of him to the woman who stood behind her, crossbow up and aimed as the corners of her mouth curled up in a sadistic but fun smile.

“Not in this lifetime,” Beth whispered and her finger pulled back on the trigger.  Sam moved out of the way as the arrow hit its mark and the tip plunged through the creature.  Sam had done this dance before, he knew how it had to go and he reached for his gun, but he didn’t find it, not like the last time.

“ALI!” He screamed. “Shoot again! Shoot NOW!”

Two more arrows came in quick succession of one another, hitting almost the same spot, but when the fourth one hit, Sam watched the fire burn out of the monster’s eyes.  Dean stepped up beside his brother, Colt drawn and shot it dead center in the head.

Sam caught his breath, trying hard to understand what had just happened but as Dean grabbed his shirt and pulled him backwards, his eyes were searching for Beth.  The light grew bright, blinding out the rest of the night, and Sam raised his arm to cover his eyes, giving himself a moment to adjust before he lowered it.

The monster, the Empusa, was gone and the night had taken on a deathly quiet sound.  Sam looked out at where it had been, searching for the woman with the crossbow, but he didn’t see her and his hand went to his chest.

“That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen you do, Sam Winchester!”  Beth’s voice full of anger and concern rang out from behind him and Sam spun on his feet.  Her lips frowned but Sam thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and quickly stepped up to her.  “What one Earth possessed you to walk right up to it?”

He just watched her being angry, taking in every movement, every change in her expression before he reached out and pulled her to him by the shirt.  His lips crashed down on hers and he made sure she knew just how he felt, pushing every emotion that flowed through him into her. Beth wrapped her arms around him, the bow swinging from the strap and she held him tighter, but when he backed away, her lips only a touch from his, he felt her smile.

“You had to stop for the kiss on the stairway, didn’t you?”  She laughed, which made Sam step back.

“How?”

“We were all there,” Beth grinned and looked up at Dean and Becca who were gathering the weapons that were tossed around the yard.  “I’ll have to explain it to you inside, we should really check on Cas and your mom.”

“But, we were really there?”  Sam whispered and watched as she nodded.

“Think about it, how did I know to shoot her from behind?  How did you know to fire more arrows? How did Dean know the final shot was to the head?” Beth took his hand as she slipped out of his arms.  Sam had his doubts but they all changed when he stepped into the house and saw Cas sitting up on the couch. 

“So, who did it?”  Dean questioned, setting the guns back in the cabinet.

“Hera,” Beth shrugged, unclipping the quiver, “it was the only way to keep us safe, to give us time to learn what we needed too, and to give us some much needed hints.”

“I get that she transported us, or whatever,” Dean spoke up as he grabbed a beer from the fridge, “but the memories, or lack of is a little much.”

“She wanted us to know,” Sam smiled, understanding what Hera meant.  “We were meant to be this way, here, now.”

Dean rolled his eyes and watched as Sam kissed Beth on the forehead.  “So what was all the other stuff? CSI Peterson here?”

“Hey, that was actually pretty fun,” Beth chimed in.

“But your dad’s house was still here,” Becca added as she sat by Cas and took his hand.

“I think that was to throw us off.  If we saw this place, we probably would have put it all together faster.”  Sam walked over and plunked himself down in one of the cushioned chairs in the living room, as he closed his eyes, but after a moment he sat forward. “We have clues.”

“What?”  Dean wanted to shake his brother while he sat there but he was way too tired to move.  “What we have is a few comfortable beds and a few hours to sleep.”

“No, I mean of whose controlling the Olympians, or at least with what,” Sam ran his hands through his hair and looked at the others.  “The Book of the Damned.”

“That book disappeared around the same time that Rowena used it to unlock Lucifer from the cage, she no longer possesses it.”  Cas added, sitting up. 

“Exactly, so whoever does has the means to summon the Gods,” Sam looked at the others in the room.  “We need to find them, and find them fast, because we barely made it through this one.”

“The wards are going to have to be reinforced,” Becca spoke up, “But I think I can do a locator spell on the book to see if I can track it down, now that I know what we’re looking for.”

“Can we do it tomorrow?”  Beth sighed and leaned back against Dean who was still in the kitchen. “This living two lives in one day thing is exhausting.” Dean smiled, kissed her on the forehead and agreed. “And I need a shower.”

“Cas, why did it throw you?”  Dean questioned. “I mean it just made googley eyes at Sam but it damn near tossed you a quarter mile.”

“It was more like two thousand yards but I believe it was because I didn’t respond to its magic the way that it had hoped.”  Cas answered, and Beth smiled.

“Empusas use pheromones to get its victims lured in,” Beth replied, “they found elevated levels on three of the vics from…” she stopped herself, thinking how it couldn’t have all been a dream but she crossed her arms and looked at the floor, “anyway, it likes guys and in order to feed, it increases the hormone to dangerous levels.”

“So are you saying Cas is immune to it?” Mary spoke up, getting into the conversation.

“The guy’s an angel, it probably didn’t have the power to ramp it up that high to get him going.” Beth shrugged and watched the look that passed between Becca and Cas, “besides, he probably had one focus when that urge came on and it got pissed when he didn’t direct it at her.”

Sam glanced from Beth to the couple on the couch and a grin crossed his lips, suddenly realizing just what Beth was talking about.  He stood, kissed his mom on the cheek, and headed down the hallway. Beth followed suit, letting Dean give her one last kiss before he let her go and she stopped to look down at Castiel.  

“There are bedrooms in the basement,” she said sternly and looked at the two of them, “no one leave tonight.”

“Understood,” Cas replied as she reached down, running two fingers along his brow before she walked slowly off down the hall.  Dean finished his beer, stretched as tall as he could and without a word moved towards his bedroom. 

Mary gave Becca a gentle squeeze of her shoulders and disappeared into the guest bedroom, leaving the two in the living room to have some quiet time.

 

Beth looked at Sam as he stripped down and tossed the dirty clothes in the pile before heading into their small private bathroom.  “It could be fun, being a CSI.”

“Hey,” he whispered, as he stuck his head out the door, “how about you forget the dream world and come join me in the real one.  I don’t want you being stuck between when we start looking for the book.”

“That’s about the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Beth smiled and stepped towards the bathroom, but she watched as Sam suddenly doubled over, clenching his stomach.  “What’s wrong?”

In his mind he could see everything, the altar, the blood, the book, the missing body parts and the face behind the magic.  His heart quickened and his knees gave out. The barrier had been breached but the house was still warded enough so that not everything got in, except he knew just who was controlling the Olympians.

Beth gathered him in her arms and felt him shiver, he clung to her arm as he let the images pass.  Not a word, he said to himself, he wasn’t going to ruin this night. Tomorrow, he was going to find him, and he was going to kill the bitch.

  
  
  



	16. Man from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam, Dean, and Beth search the multitude of journals in their possession trying to find out more about the man from Sam's vision, but their hunt leads them straight into the heart of Voodoo country and St. Louis cemetery in New Orleans.

Man from the Past 

SPN FanFic #16

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

THEN:

Carthage, New York

December 12, 2000

 

The four of them sat out front.  Dean, twenty-one, was leaning against the railing, his arms crossed in his usual fashion as the angry grimace stayed stuck across his face.  Beth and Sam, both seventeen, sat in the wicker chairs, with annoyed faces on, but it wasn’t that they were annoyed at Dean, but the raised voices within the house.  Serena paced between the three as she bit on her fingernail. They could all hear the argument between John and Paul, it wasn’t as if they were being quiet about it. Dean sighed, switching his weight as she rolled his eyes.

It was always the same thing, always the same argument.  The safety of the kids, how come they were left alone, what did Paul want from John, what did John want from Paul, but it didn’t matter because it was all the same answer. They wanted the kids out of the family business but no matter what they did, they were always sucked back in.

Beth stood, shook her head and walked off the porch which made Dean and Sam exchange looks.  Sam had gone after her last time and decided that she just needed a break from the noise but Dean, ever the protector, was concerned for her safety and growled as he turned and marched off after her. 

Beth hadn’t made it further than the woods when Dean had stopped her but Sam stood at the edge of the porch, leaning against the beam and watched the interaction between the two of them.  Was he jealous? No, there was nothing to be jealous about but when Dean was so quick to run, it made Sam wonder just how deep his brother’s affection for her went. Serena stepped up beside him and leaned against him, placing both hands on his shoulder as her chin rubbed irritatingly against his arm.

“I’m telling you, there is something there and you aren’t seeing it.” Serena mocked and stepped away from him.

“I see my brother going after your sister to keep her safe, it’s just the way that Dean is and you know it,” Sam snapped glancing over at her before looking back at the scene. “What is with you?  Why are you always trying to start something between us?”

“Really?”  Serena laughed and sat down on one of the chairs.  “I’m hurt that you would suggest that I have anything but good intentions for you, Sam.  I just don’t want to see you hurt by the game my sister is playing. Can’t you see that she’s leading him on, and not only him but you.  She’s a player, love one brother, hang onto the other.”

Sam took a deep breath and gave her the only real response he could, “screw you!” and with that he walked off the porch, hands tucked into the winter jacket he wore as he followed the path to where Dean and Beth were standing.  They weren’t touching, in fact they stood several feet apart but the way that Dean looked down at her, he could tell that Beth was emotional. She was in his arms before he even reached the pair and Sam held her tightly, his eyes locked on Dean’s.

“I think Dad’s going to leave for good this time,” Dean’s voice cracked as his gaze rested on the back of the sobbing girl’s head, “which means we’re going with him.”

“I’m not leaving,” Sam sighed, rubbing his hand over her back, “I’m not leaving Beth.”

“We don’t have a choice, you don’t have a choice Sammy, you’re only seventeen,” Dean sighed, and turned to look up at the trees as if they held the answers. “I can stay.”

“What?”  Sam questioned; which brought Serena’s comments to the forefront.

“Well not  _ here _ !”  Dean quickly snapped as he looked at his brother, which gave Sam some relief.  “In town, at the motel, somewhere to make sure she’s safe.”

Sam turned as the porch door slammed shut.  Both of them watched as Paul stood in the middle of the driveway, glanced from the one kid on the porch to the three by the woods and turned back around, walking inside.  The corners of Dean’s mouth turned up in a grin as Sam just gave him a “huh” before turning back to his brother.

“Maybe we won’t be going anywhere,” Sam replied and they waited.  There was no screaming, no cursing, and as Dean listened, no tossing of glass bottles.  “Sounds like the war is over.”

“I wonder what it was about this time?”  Dean questioned as headed back, Beth still tucked in Sam’s arms.  She wasn’t crying, she was just enjoying the warmth of being close to him.  

“My Uncle Peter,” Beth spoke up and the boys stopped to look at her, both totally confused.  Beth stepped back, leaning against the back end of the Impala as soon as they hit the driveway.  “He’s been in town, sniffing around here trying to start trouble and drunk off his ass.”

“Peter?”  Dean questioned, never hearing the name before.

“Well, he’s really Serena’s uncle.”  Beth shrugged.

 

NOW

 

Sam looked up from the journal entry that was marked in both Paul’s and John’s journals.  December 13, 2000. He closed both books, taking the list of names he had gathered from both books and sat down next to Beth, who was currently nose deep in a book about some Greek god or the other.  She looked up from it, rubbed her eyes and placed the book down, marking the spot with the paper she was writing on.

He had told her about the visions, about the altar and blood and the missing pieces from the “reality” that they had all been swept to, but it wasn’t until he described the face, that she had suggested the journals.

“So, what did you get?”  Beth asked, sitting forward on the couch as he scooted over, letting her place her legs across his so he was almost leaning over her as they looked at the names together.  “Deacon Kaylor, Jim Murphy, Daniel Elkins, Caleb and Peter Elkins.”

“All the names of the people that correspond with dates in both of our fathers journals.” Sam shrugged.

“Deacon?” Dean spoke up as he came into the room from his bedroom, his hair all tussled and still in his tee-shirt and pajama pants.  “Dad’s old hunting buddy, Deacon? Last time we saw him was at Green River County Detention Center, God that was years ago.”

“But when we were nine, Dad and Paul went out on a hunting mission with him to take care of something down in Newark,” Sam replied and sat up, looking over at Dean, who blinked several times trying to keep his eyes open. “Apparently Deacon was hunting something but they couldn’t tell if it was a shifter or a doppelgänger.” 

“And what does one have to do with the other?”  Dean asked confused as he stood and moved over to the half-empty coffee pot. “How long have the two of you been up?  It looks like a tornado went through here and puked up old books.”

“I don’t think we’ve slept yet,” Beth sighed and held out her cup, which Dean shuffled over to refill, his bare feet hurting against the cold tile floor.

“You’re crazy,” he stated, watching as Beth rolled her eyes at him, and then mixed in a little sugar and cream when he placed the pot back.  “So, did they solve it?”

“They just took care of them both and called it a day.”  Sam shrugged. 

“Hmm,” Dean mumbled as he took a sip of the hot liquid.  “So Paul and Dad went all the way to Newark, ganked a couple monsters for Deacon and came home? Doesn’t sound like their style, they were usually in it until they couldn’t dig anymore.”

“I guess there was something going on at the time that was more pressing,” Sam answered.

“What can be more pressing than getting down to the grit about not one but two monsters?”

“Beth and I doing some strange stuff.”  This got Beth’s attention and she turned to him.  

“Like how strange?”  Beth sat up and grabbed the paper from him, but it didn’t have any information on it.

“Ha, for you we’d have to go ET kind of strange,” Dean laughed but the unamused gaze that she gave him made the laughter fade to just a smile.

“Telekinesis, telepathy, even just making stuff appear out of nowhere.”  Sam turned to make sure he could see his brother. “I guess we lost time too because they said we would come back covered in mud or other things.  We were nine, how could we do that kind of stuff?”

“Demon blood?  Angel wings?” Beth answered and shrugged. “Dad always questioned whether my birthmark was a gift or a curse.”

“But nothing had manifested at that time, we were still too young.”  

“So what happened next?”  Dean was curious now.

“Um, November the same year, 1992,” Sam got up and grabbed the two journals as Dean plopped down on what was becoming his favorite chair and gave Beth a smart-ass grin as he propped his feet up on the coffee table.  

Beth, reached behind her onto the end table, grabbed her pocket knife and tossed it, landing inches from his heels, and Dean put his feet down. Sam watched as he leaned forward and stared at it sticking out of the table. He sat back, staring at the woman’s blue eyes and mouthed the word “psycho” at her.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing!” She winked and Sam sat down, looking at the knife that was stuck in the wood.  He closed his eyes for a moment, then gave each one of them a dirty look, to which he receive an innocent look from both of them.  

“Really, guys?”  Sam whispered and moved the knife, setting the books down as he got comfortable.  “So, ah, November, 1992. I don’t know where they went but both of them say the same thing.  Pastor Jim was watching us, but noticed that we could sit and stare at each other for hours…”

“How is that unusual, we do that now?”  Dean snickered behind the coffee mug, “and you two with the goo-goo eyes, ugh!”

“We were able to do this for hours and I guess it freaked him out because we would burst out laughing at nothing.  Paul has it, but Dad doesn’t. He says that Jim caught Beth in the kitchen answering questions that he had just heard Dean and I asking across the house.”  Sam shrugged.

“Again, how is that unusual?”

“Beth was listening to music and doing the dishes, there was no way that she would have heard us,” Sam insisted.  “Anyway both of them shrugged it off and said that it was possibly the acoustics in the house.”

“Acoustics, my ass!”  Dean mumbled, shaking his head, “the walls were so thick in that place you had to practically yell in someone’s ear to hear them.”

“Or stand outside and listened to them scream at each other for hours,” Beth whispered, as she leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling.  “So we’ve established that we were a trio of nutcases, moving on.”

“Who’s the nutcase?”  Dean poked. Beth smiled, she loved the playful mood he woke up in most mornings and she rolled her head to the side to look at him, stuck out her tongue and mouthed “you” before she winked.  “Yeah, moving on!”

“December, 92,” Sam started.

“What the hell! Did you two hit puberty that year?”  He cracked and Sam looked at him with a bit of annoyance.  “Sorry, but think about it, three incidences in one year. Something happened to start that off, what was it?”

“This one is more about you from what I get in the entries.  You went missing,” Dean sat forward and took the book from him.  “It’s only in Dad’s though; I’m not sure why Paul doesn’t have it in his.”

“Dean is missing but Beth says she knows where he is,” Dean started. “It’s been hours, and the weather is getting worse.  I don’t know how Paul can sit there and shrug it off while Beth sits in the living room and talks to herself,” Dean glanced up at her and then back at the book, “the time listed is about three hours later, and Dad wrote:  Dean’s back, he twisted his ankle when he fell from a tree in the backwoods of the property. He’s safe but I can’t get passed the fact that he insists that he heard Beth calling his name and it was the only way he made it through the white out that is going on outside.”

“Dude, you got lost?”  Sam teased and Dean handed him back the book with a serious look in his eyes.  “You remember that, don’t you?”

“I was thirteen, of course I remember it,” Dean grumbled and rested his elbows on his knees.  “The branch gave way, I was trying to see the way back to the house when the snow kicked up, but it was like Beth was in my head, and she was pretty persistent about which way I needed to go to get back.  It took me a while but I made it there. I just never said anything because Dad made such a big deal out of it.”

“Wait, what the hell is it with me being involved in all this stuff and I barely remember any of it?”  Beth sat forward and grabbed Paul’s book from Sam, flipping to the next marked page. “February, 1994: Snow storm of the century, all four are missing.”

“Your dad kept a pretty cryptic journal,” Sam pointed out.

“Yeah, he usually only used the initials so that we would be safe,” Beth replied, and stared down at the paper.  “We were eleven in this one. Same date, time four hours later. John found Sam, Serena, and Dean safe in the old shack by the river, Beth is still missing.  They say the tall man with angel wings took her. That’s all it says and then there is some Angel Lore, for about a page and a half, guess he was researching while looking, and then a side note scribbled.  Beth is home, retraced steps, and found her by the shack. The only thing she knows is the angels told her about a man named Elkins.”

“Like Daniel Elkins?”  Dean questioned.

“Do we know another?” Sam whispered, glancing over at her.  

“Sounds familiar.” Beth took a deep breath, confused.

“What else does it say?”

“Beth says the Angel warned her about Elkins, that whatever she did, she had to stay away from him.” But Beth just shook her head.  “I have no idea what my dad is talking about, I don’t remember an Angel, and I certainly don’t remember them telling me about anyone named Elkins.  I only know a few and I’m sure they aren’t going to be someone we need to worry about.”

“Well, this might solve it.”  Sam took the book from her and flipped to the next tagged page.  “June, 1996, hunting down a Wendigo, met up with Daniel Elkins, haven’t seen him in years.  He’s still pretty pissed off but at least Serena is safe.”

“Why wouldn’t Serena be safe?” Beth whispered as Sam continued.

“Wendigo mission is a success, but while celebrating our mission accomplished, Elkins told me about John.  He said that Winchester used to hunt with him, that here was some sort of misunderstanding and that they parted on bad terms. He never did tell me what it was about, I never asked, but he brought up Leita once or twice and it makes me think.”  Sam looked at Beth confused.

“Who’s Leita?” Dean questioned as Beth sat quiet.

“Serena and PJ’s mother,” she said softly, clearing her throat as she looked up at the two of them.

“Wait, Leita is who to Daniel?” 

“Daniel is her father,” Beth shrugged, “at least that’s what I think they said his name was.  I never met him, only Serena had contact with him after Paul John died. He certainly didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Okay, so that might explain the next entry I found.”  Sam flipped through it again and found the next one that was checked off. “May 1998, at the Roadhouse with Ellen, mentioned Sam and Dean when I spoke about my daughters, she is still pretty pissed off at John but asks about the boys.  I don’t blame her, it was a tragic time. Hunting a pack of Weres in the area, introduced me to Caleb, a young hunter not much older than Dean but could match us in a round or two. He was very talkative, mentioned knowing something about a Peterson kid.  Did he realize he was talking about my kid? Said she was one of the protected ones, but there is also something about Sam just rumors going around. All three could be powerful together. All three who? Can’t wait until this is finished, good hunter, big mouth.”

“All three?”  Dean spoke up.

“It doesn’t specify anything else except that Caleb also brought up Leita again, that the Elkins name was going around certain unsavory circles.  Paul states that he questioned which circles but Caleb just knew about the fact that she was being hunted.”

“Jesus, they were hunting Leita?”  Beth’s disbelief was evident in her voice as she closed her eyes. Maybe staying up all night wasn’t such a good idea.

“Hey, Kid,” Dean whispered and Beth opened her eyes suddenly, not realizing how close he had gotten.  Sam looked over at her, placing a hand on her knee. “Come on, I’ll take you to bed.”

Beth smiled as Dean literally scooped her up off the couch, but the warmth of his tee-shirt and the body underneath kept her from protesting.  She held a hand out for Sam, who took her small fingers in his and smiled, before Dean turned her away and carried her down the hall.

 

“I could have walked, you know.” Beth mumbled in protest as he set her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her.

“Yeah, I know,” he half-smiled, “but then you would have been able to get away before answering my question.”  She knew he had an alternative motive and turned to gaze into his eyes as Dean crouched down beside the bed. “What is my brother looking for?”

“A connection,” Beth sighed, “to a vision he had last night.”

“What kind of vision?” He raised a finger before she made some sort of smart-ass remark and glanced at the room.  “You put up the wards remember, your thoughts don’t penetrate these walls, so when you’re in here, I’m out of the loop, so it’s back to old fashion and you need to tell me if I need to be concerned.”

“It was about an altar, a spell and a man behind it.”  Beth wanted to shut up but her brain just wasn’t functioning right.

“You could have just asked me,” Sam’s voice interrupted them as he stood in the doorway to the room, and Dean looked a little confused.  “It doesn’t work with the door open.”

Dean kissed Beth on the temple and stood, following Sam up the hallway before the two of them stopped in the middle of the room.

“You’re having visions?”  Dean questioned, there was concern somewhere in that statement but it didn’t come out in his voice.

“Just one, last night after we all split,” Sam replied and looked over at the books.  “And so what if I was Dean, it’s not like it hasn’t happened in the past.”

“Yeah before it was when you were hopped up on Demon blood and Azazel was after your ass,” and that was concern as well but Dean was just not getting it right this morning.  “What’s going on, man? We’re brothers, talk to me, let me in on this one.”

“I know the guy,” Sam admitted and shook his head, “I know where I’ve seen him before and I know who the hell he is, but I don’t get why he’s after us, after Mom.”

“So, who is he?” Dean crossed his arms, the usual Dean trait that told Sam he was serious and contemplating, two very bad things.  Sam sat down and picked up Paul’s journal. “You gonna read me a story?”

“Shut up and sit down.” Sam growled and watched as his brother actually took him seriously and sat down once again. “Paul’s journal, December 2000.  Peter showed up today, he hadn’t been at the house in a long time, but there was something about him that was different, a hunter knows these things.  Peter was one of the best hunters that John and I have ever met, trained well from his father. He wanted to see Serena but she was off doing prep for one of her classes. Kids don’t stick around much these days, they are old enough to go out on their own.”

“Wait, I think I remember this,” Dean spoke up and sat forward.  “Peter was Serena’s uncle. I remember Dad and Paul having a huge fight over this, one that almost sent us packing but Paul came out and took one look at the three of us and the fight was over.  I don’t get it, what the hell happened? What was that one look about?”

“It keeps going,” Sam watched his brother intensely as Dean thought about the past events.  “Peter wanted to hunt, he was itching for it, wanted John and I to join him, but he wouldn’t say what the hunt was for, what we would be looking for, he just kept pushing.  That was when the kids came in, and he only has our initials here, D, S and A walked by and Peter stood up, there was something that he saw in the three of them that made him shake.  All I saw was the usual, A holding S’s hand, and D with his hand on her shoulder. It had become something of a regular deal in the house, those boys kept her safe, like she had some sort of connection to them, something stronger than we could see.  

“It was the comment that Peter made after the kids disappeared that set John off.  Peter implied in a not so short kind of way that John had allowed his boys to be beaten by the Devil, that A was some sort of monster, and that she was corrupting both.  John, in usual Winchester fashion, came out swinging.” Sam put down the book.

“That was the fist fight that you broke up,” Dean’s eyes took on a look, one of full recognition.  “Sam, what did Peter say when you pulled them apart?”

Sam stopped for a moment, he hadn’t realized that he never told Dean the whole story, that he had always kept that one little comment to himself and he thought back to the bloody fight that made its way out to the driveway, as John and Peter traded blow for blow.  Sam had basically pushed Beth into Dean’s arms, telling him to keep her safe as he pushed his way into the fight, as fists flew but when Sam was finally able to get in between them, he pushed Peter up against the Impala and held John away at arm’s length, the two of them bleeding from their mouths, and nose.

“You should have died!” Peter spat out, blood running from his lips, and Sam realized that Peter wasn’t talking to John, he was talking to Sam.  “You should have died like your mother, like my sister!”

“Leita died?”  Dean asked, and Sam quickly looked over at him, he hadn’t realized he said the words out loud and Sam shook his head.

“I don’t know but he was talking to me, not Dad.  He said I should have died,” Sam looked down at his fingers and shook his head.  “The next thing I knew, he was looking up at Beth, at you and the burning in my chest was so overwhelming.  I hated him right then, and I didn’t even know the guy.”

“That’s when you cold-cocked him, I remember that,” Dean let out the breath he was holding.  “I don’t think I had ever seen you so mad at that point.”

“But it wasn’t that he had said it about me or mom, it was that look that he gave Beth.”

“So, Peter said that Leita died, and before that Leita was being hunted, but we don’t know why, or by who,” Dean pointed out and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. “Great, we’re no closer to the truth.”

“Actually, I think we are,” Sam whispered and got up once again.  He dug through the piles of books and brought out another one.

“Jesus, how many journals do you have?” Dean wondered and watched as he sat down, “wait a minute, that’s Bobby’s journal.”

“Yeah, I grabbed it.” Dean watched as Sam lovingly ran his hand over the cover of the book before setting it down on the table.  “So, if we go back to prior to 2000, which trust me there is a lot of crap to go through, there is one entry about an Elkins, and not Daniel, Leita.”

“Bobby knew Leita?”

“Not knew her, hunted her.”  This made Dean sit back in his chair.  Bobby hunting a human, let alone an Elkins, but Sam caught his thoughts and shook his head.

“She wasn’t human anymore,” he interrupted and Dean made a noise, as if his mind had just been blown.  “She had gone dark side and not halfway.”

“So she was working for the bad guys, as what? A barmaid?”

“Try full-on witch,” Sam glanced at him one more time and then down at the book.  “March 1998, Rufus and I put down a full coven in the area of Coldwater, Michigan, and not just any coven, this one was strong,” Sam read, then paused as he listened for Beth.

“I closed the door,” Dean smirked and watched as Sam nodded his appreciation before continuing.

“Blood sacrifices, ritual altars and some powerful magic was being done in the area, which lead us to Coldwater. An old junkyard on Bidwell Road seemed to be the center of the activity.  When were monsters going to learn that they needed to expand and not just make it easy to map out?”

“Good, ole’ Bobby,” Dean snickered.

Sam stopped reading and just started to paraphrase the entry.  “Apparently, they raided in the middle of a ritual, something strong and get this, our missing body parts from Hera’s little alternate reality trip were listed in the journal of things that they found after the coven had been taken care of.  Several items, mostly the books, Bobby kept but there was one that seemed to be there when they started and vanished when they were done.”

“The Book of the Damned,” Dean guessed.  

“The problem is where was it last seen?” Sam’s brow raised as he asked the question and Dean shook his head.

“Rowena used it last to try and cast a spell against Lucifer, the last known spot she had it was Grand Isle, Louisiana,” Castiel spoke up as the angel stepped out of the closet, which just made Dean smirk as Sam rolled his eyes, knowing just what Dean was thinking.  “If you remember right, Rowena always had ties down there, something she was drawn to, and I believe she left it there to keep it safe.”

“So all we have to do is find Rowena and get the location of the book,” Dean stood up, ready to go but Cas’ face made that smirk disappear.  “Great, don’t tell me she lost it!”

“Actually, I’ve lost Rowena.” Cas admitted and watched as both turned to look at him.  “I was tracking her since we last ran into Crowley but two days ago, she disappeared off my radar, and I haven’t been able to pick her up since.”

“So you lost her, and you’re just telling us now?” Dean groaned, “Cas, we talked about important information, remember?”

“I do but I was also in the middle of pulling your mother back from Sioux Falls, and recovering from an Empusa attack.”  Castiel raised his voice which got a surprised look from Sam. “I apologize, Becca kicks in her sleep so it was an uncomfortable night.”

Both Sam and Dean exchanged wide grins as the frustrated Angel went for the pot at the end of the counter, poured a large mug of extremely hot coffee and downed it before they could get a word out. Cas turned and watched the shock expression on their face.

“Also,” he continued, “the book is no longer in Grand Isle, it’s been moved to New Orleans.” 

“Wonderful,” Dean mutter, “Grand Central Station for ghosts, ghouls and any other unnatural entity.”

“Why New Orleans?” Sam wondered, glancing back and forth between them.

“You mean besides the Hoodoo, Voodoo and all other forms of magic?”  Dean asked sarcastically.

“Marie Laveau,” Cas answered as Sam sat down with the journals and flipped through them.  He had seen the name before, and knew the legend but why would Cas bring her up. “Her tomb is guarded by ancient magic, anything placed in it would be protected from those seeking to use that power.”

“So what?  Whoever got their hands on it is protecting it?”  

“It seems that way, yes.”  Cas looked down at Sam. “I don’t believe you’ll find any reference to it in those journals.”

“Why not, everything else is in here?”  Sam looked up at him. 

“I’ve already check them.”  

“What?”  

Cas glanced back and forth between the boys.  “I had a theory of my own and decided to investigate, it’s how I found out where the book was.”

“Okay, so what do we do next?” Dean shrugged and watched Sam run a hand over his face, the lack of sleep made the younger brother look sick, and Dean could always tell when the crash was going to happen.  Sam wasn’t going to last much longer. “Look, Sam go get some rest, Cas and I will check out New Orleans and be back before you wake up.”

“You can’t go,” Mary’s voice interrupted and all three men looked up at her as she stepped from the hallway, completely dressed.  “You need to stay here and protect Beth.”

“She’ll be alright with Sam, Mom,” Dean answered.

“No, she won’t,” Mary sighed.  The brothers exchanged worried glances as she stepped further into the room. “I know what’s going on between the three of you, the connection.  Becca explained some of it last night. Dean, if you leave, she’s open for attack, just like if Sam left. The three of you are stronger together.”

“Mom,” Dean whispered, knowing she didn’t understand the extent of their powers.  “Beth is just as strong with Sam as she is with me.”

“She’s really not, Dean.”  Mary smiled, walking over to her oldest son.  She placed her hand on his cheek and felt him lean into it.  “I know love, true love because I had it with your father. You and Sam, what you have with Beth is pure, and when the three of you are together, you’re unstoppable.  If you take one piece of that away, there could be devastating consequences.”

“I agree,” Cas stepped forward.  “Your mother is right. I can take her and Becca to New Orleans and the three of you can follow up with the other lead you have.”

“You have another lead?”  Mary questioned, her hand moving away from Dean’s face as he looked at Sam, but the dark spots under his eyes began to worry her.  “Have you been to bed yet?”

“Mom,” Sam’s voice was scolding, as if he were warning her.  

“The other lead is an old hunting buddy of Dad’s,” Dean spoke up, “he’s been dead for years but we think his kids might be involved somehow, the only problem is locating them.”

“I can do a simple locator spell.” Becca spoke up but that was about the time that Sam had just about had enough.  He stood, which caught everyone else’s attention and stared down Dean, just for a few seconds before he trudged off down the hallway. “Was it something I said?”

“No,” Dean replied, still watching after him, “he’s just tired.”

 

While Becca, Cas and Mary gathered the stuff for the locator spell, Dean snuck away down the hallway and slipped into Sam’s room.  He found his brother lying against Beth, his body pressed up against her back, exactly like Dean used to do and he smiled, as he looked at their intertwined fingers.  He was about to turn and leave but Sam cleared his throat and Dean closed his eyes for just a second before turning back. Sam’s eyes were intense and full of color, which they were every time he was overtired.

“You okay?” Dean whispered and Sam smiled, glancing down at the sleeping woman before he nodded. “So why am I getting this pissed off vibe from you?”

“Because I was basically just sent to my room by my mother,” Sam growled and shifted against Beth, if only to see Dean better but the older man stepped further into the room, and leaned against the dresser, his arms crossed.  “Can we really send them to New Orleans?”

“How can we not?” The side of Dean’s lip turned up as he went deep in thought.  “Mom’s right, we can’t leave Beth.”

“It’s not like we haven’t split up before,” Sam argued, but he knew that Dean was right.  

“But that was before a direct attack on our home, Sam.”  Dean shook his head in frustration. “I know you want to get this son of a bitch, but we can’t put her in harm’s way to get it done.”

“You know, I never thought I would hear you say something like that,” Sam grinned and watched as Dean shifted his legs.  “Come on, before Beth we were drifters looking for the next hunt, even with the bunker. Now you, of all people, can’t leave because of what?  Because we need to protect one person.”

“Saving people, Sammy, it’s what we do.”  Dean smiled, but he knew that Sam wasn’t trying to be an asshole, it was just something he had been observing. “Maybe I just decided it was time to grow up and settle down.”

“Grow up?”  His brother chuckled. “There’s a new one, even for you.”

“Hey, I can try something new once in a while,” Dean walked towards the door, “get some sleep, bitch.”

“I’ll try, Jerk!” Dean’s grin widened as he listened to Sam settle down once again on the bed as he closed the door.

Becca met him halfway down the hallway, excitement on her face. “We’re ready.”

 

Dean watched as the four of them stood around the kitchen table, the map of the US that Beth had stashed in the bunker was spread out before him and candles flickered on each corner.  Becca mumbled a spell he didn’t recognize, not in the normal Latin that he had heard, as she sprinkled the herbs in a swirl around the map. Three different kinds and while he was pretty sure he had come across every herb there ever was, these ones smelled like body odor, sweaty socks and cat piss.

Becca looked at him, repeating the name Peter Elkins several times before continuing in Latin, she dropped a small match on the swirl, causing them to act like the gunpowder in the old movies he loved to watch.  It ran up the rows, hissing as it went and the smell became that of death. The map began to fold into itself, setting ablaze as it shrunk and the first thought that came across Dean’s mind wasn’t how well it was working, but how pissed off Beth was going to be when the fire scorched a design into her table.

He found himself grinning and maybe, just for a moment, he hope that it didn’t work, that he could stay where he was and never have to face another monster again because what he really wanted was Beth, and Sam, and this quiet little house they had created together, but the fire blazed on, moving in a strange fashion, against the swirl of the herbs until it was little more an eight inch section of sooty paper.  Becca waited for the smoke to stop, for the flames to go out and with two fingers, she scooped it up and dumped what was left of the herbs in the trash. Dean’s next thought, there was no way in hell those smelly things were staying in the house, but she had set the paper down and he leaned over. In the middle, untouched by the fire or the blackened, charred words was a small town in New Hampshire.

“Dunbarton?”  Dean questioned, the name itself rolled off his tongue like the aftertaste of a sour lemon.

“Geological center of the New England,” Castiel replied, which got him a look from Dean.

“Thanks Professor Cas,” Dean leaned down, his fists on the table and studied the map.  “Why there?”

“Remember the Devil’s Gate?”  Becca questioned, and watched as Dean stood, his brow creased in anger.  Remember? That’s where Dean watched his father escape from Hell and move on, how could he not remember?  “The center of a Devil’s Trap laid out by rail lines and churches, so like that, Dunbarton is the center of a cross, and not just any cross, one of the oldest symbols in mythology, representing the elements.  This is the one spot where everything would come together, every element, every power…every God.”

“So he’s using it for the magic?”  Dean whispered, more of a question to himself.  “He’s opening up a door to bring the Olympians through.”

“Basically,” Becca shrugged, “but that’s not the only reason Dunbarton is so important.”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Becca grabbed Paul’s journal and turned to Dean.  

There were sealed pages at the beginning and she watched his face as she slipped the blade of the knife Beth had thrown at through the seal. She flipped it open, as if she had seen the pages before and knew just what to look for. 

“From the Journal of Edward Maison, 22 June 1902, Dunbarton, New Hampshire transcribed by Paul Peterson,” Becca started and watched the realization that crossed Dean’s face. “He’s here! Jeremiah arrived last night amongst a storm to rival all others, and thanks be it to the Lord, he’s as healthy as an ox. The strangest thing happened though, when he arrived, his first cry stopped the winds, the rain and the cold.  I swear on all that is Holy, that boy drove it away. Jane wouldn’t believe me though, not if I told her, not after what I confided in her about the Joseph house. She would think our child was cursed.

“There is one more thing I need to mention.  His birthmark. Reverend Eastwick said that he had been kissed by angels, and Jane believes it so since the first few months of the pregnancy didn’t bode well at all but the mark is truly amazing.  Just across the last little rib on his left side, where they connect to his back bone is a faint outline of Angel wings, spread so wide that they nearly span his whole back, but the Reverend insists that they cover his heart.”

Dean sat down in the chair in shock.  Beth’s wings, her birthmark first appeared on her grandfather in the very town that Peter Elkins was in.  He couldn’t hear the conversation around him, what the others were saying about the passage that Becca had just read to him, all he could do is think of her.  He remember the first time he saw them, as she leaned forward after the nymph’s attack, the wings with the anti-possession tattoo in the middle of them, the “full-on Castiel wings” that protected the bottom of her heart.  Hera said they were a ward, a way of keeping out anything and everything but they were also a symbol of her heritage. North Wind wings, more power than any human should possess.

Dean quickly ran a hand down his face, trying to get passed the shock of it and he blinked away the memories, as he looked at the worry on his mother’s face.  

“You need to go to New Orleans,” he said, nodding to himself, trying to reassure them that it was the right thing to do. “And you need to find that damned book!”

“Are we flying down?”  Becca questioned, and Mary looked at her horrified.

“No,” Dean shook his head and stood from the chair, “ah, Cas can get you both down there.”  He moved towards the bunker and made his way to the back computer, listening as the rest of them followed.  Beth kept a list of hunter safe houses on the inside of the storage room panel. Becca watched as he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled something down before giving it to her, only because she seemed to be the closest body he could find.  “Stay here, it’s deep in the French Quarter, you’ll be close to the cemetery that holds the tomb.”

“Dean?”  Becca reached out and took his hand, which made him jump.  She glanced back at Cas, who ushered Mary up the stairs before she turned back to the frazzled man before her.  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I’m just…”he licked his lips, trying to find the words but nothing came out.

“You’re not going to lose her, Dean,” Becca knew his fear and he was suddenly glaring at her.

“You don’t know that,” his voice was a low growl, the emotions in his eyes were almost more than she could take. “I told her when she first came back into my life that people around me die.  How could I have been so stupid to think that she wouldn’t be one of them?”

“She’s not dead, Winchester!” Becca snapped and slapped him on the arm, “and besides Beth would never do that, she’s too damned pig headed to let some lunatic with a spell kill her off. Worse off is the fact that whether you and Sam know this or believe it, she is a Winchester through and through, so Peterson or not, that side of her is not going to let her be picked off!”

“She’s not a Winchester, not yet.” Dean smiled, thinking of the other night when he had asked her to marry him, jokingly of course.

“Then one of you better do something about that!” Becca started to walk away before she glanced back and smiled, “besides family doesn’t end with blood, and it doesn’t start there either, but over years, like the ones the three of you have had, it become it. She’s more of a Winchester than you realize.”

Dean let her walk away, thought back to when Bobby had told him those words and he smiled.  She was right, Beth had the heart of a Winchester and the soul of a Peterson, there was no way that this was going to defeat her, but there was still that fear in the back of his heart that always seemed to linger when he loved someone.

His mind raced as he moved up the stairs, rushing passed the three in the living room and he found himself taking apart the bags that he had stashed under his bed.  He finally located just what he was looking for and folded the bag over on the bed. Things of every sort fell out, stakes, knives, bullets, small pieces of scrap paper meant for the journal but they have never made it in, but there was a reason for that particular bag.  He grabbed one of the discarded knives and cut down the seam of what looked like an inside pocket, listening to the fabric tear as he tossed the knife and used his fingers. 

For a moment he stopped and caught his breath, before slowly reaching into the opening.  His heart raced as his fingers clenched on the very thing he had kept safe. With a slow breath out, he removed his hand from the bag, the silver ring resting on the tip of his pointer finger as his thumb held it in place.  His mother’s ring, the one thing he had taken from her possessions. John used to carry it but Dean had found it just lying around one day discarded and it became his, until his finger couldn’t fit it anymore. As he twirled it around, he could feel the pits from the blows it had taken, from the life the small inanimate object had lived and he smiled.

He blinked back the emotions and slowly made his way over to Sam’s door.  With a glance down the hall at the three people who were deep in discussion about New Orleans, Dean slipped in.  He made his way towards the sleeping couple, and smiled. They were still laying the same way, left hands intertwined and he could hear his brother let out a sigh.  Dean scanned his face, at the peacefulness of it and he knelt down on Beth’s side of the bed.

“Sam,” Dean whispered, reaching out to touch his arm.  “Sammy?” That word got the younger one’s attention and he fought to open his eyes, but focused on Dean as he sat up a bit, looking at the silver ring between the man’s fingers. “There’s something I need you to do.”

“Dean, where did you find that?  I thought you lost that years ago,” Sam grumbled with a sleepy voice.

“It doesn’t matter,” he shook his head, “we need to do something, you, me, and Beth.”

“Dean, what are you talking about?”  Sam was still not getting it. Dean reached out and grabbed their hands, separating Sam and Beth, and he held the ring out to his brother.

“Take it,” he whispered and watched as Sam hesitated.  Those fingers closed around Dean’s and the ring slipped from one brother to the other, but Dean wasn’t done. His hand slipped under Beth’s and raised it up, holding her fingers out as his thumb caressed the palm of her left hand.  Sam understood now and slowly moved the ring to the tip of Beth’s finger. “Do it, Sam.”

“No,” this stopped Dean for just a moment as Sam stared at him.  “We do it together, yours, mine, ours.” 

Dean licked his lips and reached out a shaking hand and placed his fingers on the empty spots that Sam’s didn’t cover.  Together, they slipped the cold silver down, until it fit snugly against her knuckles. It was then that both boys felt her power and realized that it wasn’t just Dean’s soft touch, or his thumb that was holding her fingers up.

Their eyes turned to her blue ones as she smiled down at the ring, and the two hands that held hers.  Dean’s still pressed around the bottom of her palm, and now Sam’s as she curled her fingers down to capture his. 

“So,” she whispered, “does this mean I belong to both of you?”

“You always have,” Sam whispered, kissing her cheek as he breathed against her ear and she turned, kissing him lightly on the lips, “and you always will.”

“Why?” Her eyes locked on Dean’s, “why now?”

“It was the right time,” he answered and leaned in, kissing her gently on the lips, but the burst of power that shook the house from that one little gesture had all three looking around.  “Now I can lock you in the basement.”

“Ha!” Beth said snapping her hand away from both of them. Dean gently rested his on her stomach as she turned to lie on her back and Sam caressed her bare arm with the back of his fingers.  “First, you should get me some coffee, then maybe we can discuss the whole basement thing.”

Dean’s face turned red as he looked up at Sam’s ear to ear grin. “Coffee?” He snickered.  “After all that, you want coffee?”

“Or some more sleep but I have a feeling, the three in the other room felt that little bit of house rocking and might want some answers,” Beth stretched and the shirt under Dean’s hand disappeared, giving him some skin to skin contact, something that made his breath catch before he quickly stood and moved.  Sam tried his hardest not to laugh at the redness in his brother’s face but as Dean leaned against the dresser, hands gripping the wood, Sam couldn’t help but let it go. “Out, so I can change.”

“Seriously?” Dean questioned.

“Just because you put a ring on it, doesn’t mean it’s yours,” Beth teased, and watched Dean ponder for a moment before he left the room, closing the door behind him, but Beth turned over in the bed and faced Sam.  “What was that?”

“The ring or the blast of energy?”  He questioned and watched as she smiled down at the silver ring.

“This I get,” her voice full of love, “the energy, not so much.”

“I think Dean just sealed our trio,” Sam shrugged. 

“Sealed it, like I just married both of you?”  She laughed but Sam’s face didn’t change and Beth sat back, “oh my God, I just…we just…really?”

“I honestly don’t know but that was the intention I was going for,” Sam shrugged, and felt her push him back on the bed.  “Hey now, you just sent Dean to get you coffee.”

“Do you really think he’s going to bust in without knocking?”  Beth smiled and watched as Sam took her left hand and raised it so she could see the ring, before he kissed her fingers.  “It doesn’t give him an all access pass.”

_ “Ah, I think it might,” _ Dean’s voice tickled on the edge of her mind and Beth whipped around to make sure the door was closed, and Sam looked just as shocked.  _ “I can feel you from the kitchen.” _

The knock on the door had Beth up and out of bed before Sam could blink and he quickly covered up before she swung it wide open.  Becca stood there, smiling, eyebrows raised and arms crossed before she glanced at Sam and winked.

“I didn’t mean to suggest to him to make you a Winchester, I only told him you were already one.”  She shrugged.

“Oh, no, Mary is going to be so pissed.” Beth whispered, pulling her in before she closed the door.  “It’s not real right?” but she turned to glance at Sam then back, “I mean, it’s obviously real to us, but I can hear Dean through the walls.  _ Dean-proofed walls! _ ”

“In the old days all you needed was a God to bless it, no church, no priest…” Becca watched the reality spread over Sam’s face and he smiled.  

“Hera,” Sam whispered and Beth did a 180, catching the brightness of his eyes.  “She’s with you, she blessed it. Beth…”

“I get it,” she smiled at him, “we just ramped this up to a thousand times more powerful.” 

Becca paced as Beth jumped back on the bed and curled up in Sam’s arms, “Okay, so this is what we’re going to do…” she stopped, took in the sight of the happy pair, and smiled, “we’re not going to panic, but there is an Olympian-happy nutcase on your asses and there is no time for celebrating.  So, get dressed, we have to bring up the barriers.”

“Right,” Beth laughed and watched as Becca made a hasty exit out of the room, just as Dean was walking back in, three cups of coffee in hand. “Seriously?”

“You said coffee!” He shrugged and put them down on the dresser.  “They’re kind of a peace offering.”

“What did you do now, Dean?”  Sam groaned and rolled his eyes, but watched as Dean just stood there waving his arms in a circle as he pointed to all three of them.

“I did this,” he leaned back and put his hands against his face.  

“You didn’t do this, Dean,” Beth stood and walked over taking his hands in hers and he twirled the ring on her finger.

“This part of it, I did.”  His voice was barely a whisper.

“You’ve had this since we were kids, I remember seeing you were it the very last time I saw you.” Beth smiled, watching him touch the silver ring. “I know it means something to you and I’m honored you gave it to me, but this, the three of us, we’ve always been this way, and Hera actually sealed the deal.”

“What?”

“Hera blessed it, Dean,” Sam spoke up, “no church, no priest, just a Goddess and her blessing.”

“That’s it?”  He looked from his brother to Beth and shook his head.  

“The only ones who matter in this deal is us, no one else,” Beth laughed, patting him on the stomach, “but hey if you still want to say yes to the dress and toss the bouquet, hon, we can do that for you.”

“Screw you, Port…Winchester!”  He laughed as she went back to the bed.  “I thought you were getting dressed?”

“I am,” Beth said as she grabbed some clothes from the folded pile that sat on the furthest dresser, “and you can finish your coffee, I’ll use the bathroom.”

Sam watched her walk away, his head tilted to the side watching her legs as Dean picked up one of the cups of coffee.

“I’ll tell you what, Sammy, we picked one hell of a girl.” Dean smiled and watched as Sam stretched on the bed.

“Can’t argue with you there,” Sam laughed and reached out a hand, which made Dean hand him a mug.  “What do we do now?”

“Find the bastard that’s after us, find the damned book and live happily ever after?”  Dean laughed. “Okay, scratch the last part, we’ll figure that out when we get there.”

Sam laughed as Dean moved away from the dresser and left the room. Beth came out dressed pulling her hair back in a ponytail and looked at the man on the bed.

“Hey, Lazy, don’t stay in bed all day,” she joked as she leaned down and kissed him, bracing herself in case he wanted to pull her down, which he wanted to badly but there was work to do and he let her off with the warmth of a kiss before she headed out of the bedroom.

 

When Sam finally entered the living room, he could see the bags that rested on the tables and then at the scorch marks beneath it.

“What the hell, Dean?”  He asked the man who stood closest to him.

“Oh,” Dean glanced down, then up with a quickness.  “You think because I like to set fire to ghosts that I did this?” Sam crossed his arms. “Nope, blame it on Witchy Woman out there and her locator spell.”

“Where’s Beth?”  

“Outside with Becca,” Dean watched as his brother moved to the window to check as Cas paced the living room.  “Don’t worry, they’re safe. Mom’s out there too.”

“You let Mom out there, with the ring on her finger?”  Sam smiled, and Dean shrugged.

“What is she going to say until we tell her?  It’s just a ring to them, nothing special…to them.” Dean pointed out but watched Cas stop and stare between them.  “Yes, Cas, whatever you are thinking, that is exactly what happened.”

“So the three of you  _ are _ bonded?”  Castiel questioned and watched both nod.  “That explains the shift in power. How do you say it…congratulations?”

Sam burst out laughing as a smile crossed Dean’s face.  “Thank you,” and then he shook his head.

 

Sam, Dean and Beth stared at the three of them, bags slung over their shoulders, dressed more appropriately for the weather in New Orleans. They had already said goodbye and good luck, they were just waiting for Cas to make sure he had the coordinates down precisely so that they would zap into the safe house and not into the middle of Jackson Square and make a complete scene.

Once the Angel was sure he knew where it was he was going, with a simple nod, they were gone. Dean placed a hand on Beth’s shoulder as she stared at the spot and kissed her gently on the temple before he walked to the stairway that lead down into the bunker.  Sam stood, watching her, unsure of what her reaction might be to sending one of her best friends out on a hunt, but she drew in a deep breath, gathered herself and towards him.

“Let get a move on to find this bastard,” she whispered and walked over to the table.  Sam smiled as she stopped dead, her fingers tracing the outline of the scorch marks that marred the wood.  “And maybe plan a hunter’s pyre for when she gets back, because this wasn’t a cheap table.”

Beth glanced up at Sam who couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.  

 

The safe house was quiet, a small two roomed spot in the middle of the French Quarter.  When Cas released Mary’s hand she leaned down, getting her bearings as Becca headed out to explore the place.  She even opened the door and looked into the hallway.

“We’re in a hotel,” she whispered as she quickly closed it and shook her head.  Cas held up a ring of keys, giving them a knowing look, because he had been unsure of their meaning when Dean had handed them to him.

“That explains these.”  He watched as she snatched them out of his hand and dropped the duffel bag on the floor beside the couch.  Mary did the same and the two of them moved towards the window. They could see out into the courtyard but not much further before turning back to Cas.  “Dean had suggested walking around the streets while it was still daylight so that we had a better chance to find the tomb before going in there at night.”

“You have to admit, he’s pretty smart,” Becca smiled and winked, “for a Winchester,” but she turned to Mary, “no offense, it’s a running joke.”

“He’s right,” Mary admitted. “Let’s go see what we can find.”

Becca sent off a text to Beth, letting her know that they had arrived and were about to go out to explore, but she didn’t wait for a reply as she stuck the small PPK in the back of her jeans and the three of them walked out the door, locking the room behind them.  While Becca had seen Cas in a lot of different clothing lately, she was admiring the way that his jeans fit him and the tight tee-shirt showed off a very different side of the angel, who grasped her hand protectively. Mary pulled back her hair and the three of them made their way down the street, heading towards St Louis Cemetery #1. 

The streets were crowded with tourist and in order to keep together, Mary grasped on to Cas’ shirt but the flow seemed to bring them right where they wanted.  From Royal Street, they turned down St Louis and crossed over Bourbon, something Becca never thought she would be doing and when she was caught up in the colors and the culture of the multitude of people, she felt Cas’ protective hand grip her tighter, pulling her along.

Mary’s senses were completely aware of everything around her and everyone.  She could sense the fear that surrounded her as she moved closer to the center of the activity.  She was a hunter after all, had much more experience than the two that lead her but there was nothing she could say that would deter them from their path.  Beth was prime motive for that but she knew that Sam and Dean were at the heart of this strange little family.

The wall that surrounded St Louis #1 were pure concrete, and she placed a hand against the wall as the man who stood beside the door asked Cas if they had tickets for the tour.  Cas looked at him strangely and Becca pulled out three pieces of paper from her pocket. Something Sam had given her. He had done his research and knew that they had shut down the cemeteries to tourist unless you came with a tour pass.

He nodded and gestured them inside.  Mary was still fascinated by the walls that surrounded the crowded burial ground.  She stopped Cas and Becca, looking at the narrow passageways and the crowd of people and they backed away into a small corner of the enclosed “community”.

“This place has the potential to house thousands of restless spirits, how are we going to find one little tomb?”  Mary questioned. Becca pulled out a picture, courtesy of Beth who had been in the area before and actually explored the cemeteries. 

“Marie Laveau’s is marked, a symbol of three x’s in a row, and a lot respect.  People leave their wishes and tributes to her, the problem is finding it in this maze.” Becca sighed, and looked around.  “We need to split up, I’ll take the east side, the two of you take the west.”

“If we split into threes we would find it a lot faster,” Mary suggested.

“And that would leave us all vulnerable to whatever might be in here.”  Becca held up her phone. “Besides, I need to call if either of us should find it and since you lost yours in the fire and we haven’t had a chance to replace it, having Cas go with you seems like a better idea.”

Mary agreed and watched as Becca smiled up at Cas, then turned and mixed in with the crowds of people that floated around.  She watched as Becca easily blended in with a tour group that was headed towards the east side of the grounds before she turned to Castiel.

“Looks like it’s you and me,” Mary sighed and gestured for him to start walking. Cas follows her closely but quietly as they make their way through the uneven rows and around the people who were stopping to take pictures or just to read the inscriptions.  “So Cas, what’s up with you and Becca?”

Castiel doesn’t answer immediately which makes Mary turn back with a smile. “It’s complicated,” was the only answer the man before her would give, but even complicated was better than nothing and she waits for him to step up next to her, as the crowd shifted and it became a matter of stop and go traffic.

“It’s got to be more than that, Castiel,” Mary laughed.  “Is she your first?” He stopped and gave her a questioning look.  “Your first real relationship, I’m sure they don’t have those in Heaven.”

“It’s very new to me, but strangely exciting,” Cas added and Mary tried to hide her genuine happiness for the angel.  It wasn’t every day that she got to see something form between two people, but then the smile faded.

“I know that Beth and the boys have a long history, but what is their connection, this magic that binds them all together?”  She watched as his eyes veered away from hers, as he searched for the right words. “How can they talk to each other and not even open their mouths?”

“Sam and Dean have created a unique way of communicating with just their nonverbal signals over the last twelve years, they’ve come to know each other very well, as brothers should.”  Cas volunteered. “As for Beth, that is something you really should ask them about. I don’t believe that it’s my place to discuss their relationship with her without their consent.”

“You’re a good friend, Cas.”  Mary nodded and the people started moving once again.  The phone in his pocket vibrated loudly and while Cas looked around for a moment before being able to pinpoint the small machine.  Mary took it from his hand and clicked on the new message button. He looked over her shoulder and watched as the message popped up on the screen.  “Becca found it, and she’s not far from where we are now.” Mary handed it to him and shrugged. “She said to call her and you would know how to find her.”

Cas nodded and ran the number. Shinedown blared against the walls as they followed the noise to where Becca stood in front of the tomb.  She was right, it was covered in different colored triple X marks and full of little trinkets that people had left.

“They make a wish and hope that while leaving a tribute, she’ll help it come true,” Becca explained as Cas knelt down before the crypt.  “Can you get into it?”

“It shouldn’t be an issue,” he replied standing as he looked around, making sure that he knew just where was going.  “It won’t be a matter of getting in, but one of getting out. There’s a power here that I can’t pinpoint.”

“These walls are reinforced with iron bars, something a spirit can’t pass without being blown away,” Mary pointed out.  “It’s how they keep them from falling and every crypt has two sections, separated by an iron grate that allows the bones to fall through while the body decays.”

“Mm, wonderful,” Becca sighed.  “So we bring a bag of salt and iron, something to protect ourselves.” She turned back to Cas after surveying the people around her.  “Do you know what you need?”

“I have a plan, yes.” He nodded and the three of them made for the gates.  

The next few hours they spent wandering the quarter, something that Dean had advised them to do, only to get an idea of the people there and make sure they were prepared in case anything else went down while they were there.

While Becca and Mary looked over the art displayed in Jackson Square, Cas dialed Dean’s number and waited for it to pick up, which took almost four rings before the gruff voice came through.   Cas could hear the arguing in the background.

_ “Cas, what’s up?” _ Dean asked and moved to a quieter spot in the house.

“We’ve located the crypt.  It shouldn’t be an issue to get in, but your mother is asking questions that I’m not sure that I’m equipped to answer.”  Cas stated, confessing to Dean his worry.

_ “About us?” _ Dean paused,  _ “about Beth?” _

“Yes and the line of questioning is very disconcerting.”  His blue eyes scanned the crowd as he spotted both women.

_ “Just let her ask and do what you usually do, be cryptic.”   _ Dean had moved back towards the arguing.

“Dean, is everything all right there?”  Cas questioned.

 

Dean turned from the living room, where he had just entered from the hallway to the kitchen where Sam and Beth stood facing off.  They were arguing, he knew that was what Cas was over-hearing but it wasn’t what he thought.

“It’s nothing a can of whoop-ass can’t fix,” Dean groaned and rolled his eyes as both of them shook the cans of whipped cream in their hands, full cans. And suddenly the two of them were shooting off the canisters.  Dean stepped back into the hallway, trying to duck out of the line of fire. “Hey, Cas, bring me home some beignets.”

_ “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re referring too.” _

“Café Du Monde,” Dean mentioned as he looked around the corner.  “Have Becca take you down. It’s something you have to do before you come home, and bring me some back.”  Dean turned to check on why it had suddenly become quiet and finds Beth smiling up at him. “Son of a bitch!”

 

Cas listened to the phone disconnect and he looked at it questioning before he slipped it back in his pocket as Becca and Mary walked up the steps to where he was sitting.  She watches the concern on his face and gently reaches out to touch his cheek.

“Is everything alright?” 

“I should go back and check on them,” he answered, thinking about the way the Dean had let the call end, but as he looked at Becca smiled down at him. Without warning, she grabbed ahold of his shirt, drawing his attention to her eyes and the smile on her lips.

“They’ll be fine, Cas, relax.”  The stoic look on his face lessened as he longed to touch her lips, finding everything about her alluring, which had attracted him since the first time they met.  It was all new to him but as she pulled him close Cas felt whole.

 

The sun had set but the amount of people that occupied the streets of the French Quarter had nearly doubled and there was no way to make it into the cemetery without getting caught, that was when Cas decided it was just going to be easier to get them from the safe house to the cemetery by himself instead of walking.

He watched as they packed the bag with the machete, an iron crowbar, a shotgun with salt shells, a burlap bag of salt and a small Book of Shadows that Becca had brought along, in case they needed more protection than the salt could offer.

All three had slipped into darker clothing, and Becca smiled as she watched Cas slip on the black leather jacket that Dean had given him.  She was very impressed by the way he looked and he could tell what her thoughts were just by the look on her face, but he chose to ignore it, only because he was on a mission and he needed to not be distracted from it.

Once all three were ready, and Mary had zipped up the dark hoodie that she wore, Cas slung the bag over his shoulder and held out his hands. They each took one and suddenly found themselves standing in the middle of the open spot between Marie’s tomb and the others that surrounded them. Cas dropped the bag, and grabbed the crowbar.  Mary emptied a circle of salt around them and the crypt as Becca armed herself with the machete.

Just as Cas popped the first part of the concert slab open, the women were faced with demonic spirits, vengeful ghosts filled the area around them, sealing them off from the rest of the cemetery.

“The bars weren’t meant to keep the ghosts from getting in,” Becca whispered as she thought of the reinforced walls.  “They were built that way to keep them from getting out, to keep them here to protect the tomb. Cas, it’s booby-trapped.”

“Yeah, and hopefully these things are all we get from it.”  Mary replied as she pulled out the shotgun and Becca swung the closer they got.  “I don’t think the salt line is going to keep them out. Cas! I’m going to need that crowbar.” As he gently set the cover aside, he handed it to her and Mary braced herself to start swinging, she turned to Becca, who danced nervously in place. “Don’t swing that thing at me.”

“Likewise,” Becca replied and suddenly they started to advance.  

Castiel dug deeply into the tomb, with what little light he had from the flashlight that lay on the ground.  His hand found their way into the remains that lay on the bottom, underneath the iron grate but there was nothing there, no matter how much he plunged.

“It’s not here!”  He yelled out to the women, but they were preoccupied by the onslaught of ugly manifestations.  Becca started chanting a small spell, hoping to help them pass over but there was too much holding them there and she shook her head.

“Dig deeper, Cas!”  She replied and swung the blade. They would dissipate but unless they wanted to salt and burn the entire burial ground, there was no way to get rid of them.

Cas turned over and inspected the inside of the crypt.  It looked completely empty but there was something different about once side of the pitch on the right.  He scooted out, and looked at the things that the women were fighting. 

“I think I have it, but I need something.”  He stated and looked at the crowbar. Mary shook her head as she continued to swing.

“Use the butt end of the sawed-off, because if we shoot that thing in here, all hell with the cops is going to break loose.”  She ordered.

Cas nodded.  “Good idea.”

With the shotgun unloaded and in hand, he gave several sharp, strong thrust into the concrete just below the pitch and watched as it crumbled away.  Finally, after the fifth time, a cloth wrapped object fell, clanging against the grate. Cas moved the light, opened the cloth and looked down at the Book of the Damned.

“I’ve got it,” he wrapped it quickly and stuffed it into the bag along with the gun but as he turned to grab ahold of them, Becca stopped the chant.

“You have to put the crypt back together, or they won’t leave.”  She watched as he realized his error and carefully placed the stone back in place, sealing the tomb once again.  

As he pressed his hands on either side, creating an airtight seal with his thoughts, the ghosts disappeared just as suddenly as they had arrived. Becca lowered the blade and Mary stopped to catch her breath. The investment in a batting cage had definitely come in handy and both the women looked at each other, dropping the weapons in the bag as Cas removed the salt circle.

“I need to change.”  He said and looked down at the filth he was covered in, or more like the remains that covered him.  Becca and Mary agreed and before they could blink, they were back at the safe house.

Cas disappeared into the bathroom and Becca set up candles, herbs and other markings around the book, just to keep it shielded from anything that might realize it was out of its hiding spot. Mary sat down on the couch and watched the woman in front of her work.

“We hunted witches when I was younger,” she spoke up, which drew Becca’s eyes to her.  “I never thought I would be honored to work so closely with one.”

“Not all of us are in league with the Devil,” Becca smiled, “for some of use this just comes naturally.”

“That I can see, and I can also see why the boys trust you.”  Mary sat forward. “I just wish they trusted me enough with the connection they have to Beth.  They haven’t really opened up about it yet.”

“They will in time.”  She answered, and watched as Mary sat back.  She knew that Mamma Winchester was fishing for answers but there was no way that Becca was going to reveal more than she knew about the Olympians or Beth’s past without the okay from her friend.  “When we get home, before this war really gets started, Mary, you and Beth and those two “boys” really need to sit down and have a family discussion.”

“I’m aware of that,” she shook her head, “I just don’t get why they would wait so long to have it.”

“They’re scared,” Becca shrugged.  “I’m sure you know how much heartache they’ve both had in their lives, how many people they loved have died.  Maybe not talking about Beth is a way for them to keep her safe, because if they lost her, the aftermath of that would be catastrophic.”

“She’s that important?”  Mary whispered.

“To all of us.”  Becca looked up as Cas came out, dressed in clean clothing and stopped to give her a slight smile.  “Ready to head back to New York?”

“There’s something we need to do first.”  Cas spoke up and watched as Becca smiled.

 

Dean looked up as he felt the vibration through the house and turned to see his mother, Becca and Cas standing in the kitchen, duffel bag in hand.  He stood quickly and hugged each one, something that he hadn’t intended to do but he was truly worried that one of them would get hurt. Mary looked at the stack of paper towels that lined the counter and the three empty canisters that sat in the trash.

“Food fight?” She smiled as Dean rubbed the back of his neck.

“I brought you these,” Castiel interrupted and handed him a bag of hot Beignets, which Dean opened and inhaled the smell before setting them down on the counter. 

“Thank you!”  He smiled which got the usual unsure reaction from Cas.  

Sam and Beth walked out from the hallway, with wet hair and clean clothing, and reacted exactly the same as Dean to seeing that the three of them had returned.  Becca and Beth disappeared into the bunker, where Beth had prepared a spot to put the book in order to keep it safe, but Mary stepped up to Sam and Dean, as Dean enjoyed the hot fried dough, and sat down across from them.  They exchanged looks before setting their sights on Mary.

“This is going to get intense, Mom, do you really want to get involved?”  Sam questioned and watched her look back and forth between them.

“For the two of you, absolutely.”  Mary smiled but it slowly faded. “It’s after Beth, isn’t it?”

“We don’t know for certain but we’re pretty positive that it started with her and it might have to end with her.”  Sam took a large breath and gave Dean a passing glance. “If it comes down to it, I’d die for her.”

“What is in the Book of the Damned that is so important?”  

“We’re not sure yet.”  Dean answered and watched the worried look on her face.  “We can’t let her do it on her own.”

“Why?”  Mary demanded to know. “Why is it so important for you to keep her safe, to sacrifice everything that you have for one girl?”

“Because that one girl is ours.”  Sam whispered and watched as Dean looked down at his hands, at the fingers that help slip the ring onto her finger.  “Both of ours.”

“That’s just…” Mary closed her eyes.

Becca stepped into the living room and stared at them, her face full of fear.  Without words the boys were up and down the stairs as fast as they could to see Beth searching through the database.  The book lay open on the table, surrounded by the herbs, salt, candles and sigils that had kept it hidden in New Orleans, but there was something strange about it.

Dean stepped up to the table.  He remembered the visions, the ones from the altered timeline, from when he was in Beth’s CIS room and he glanced up at her, his eyes full of worry.  She stepped back to the table and shook her head as she looked back and forth between Dean and Sam.

“It’s gone,” she let her breath come out with those two words as she reached out and touched the jagged edges of the two missing pages.  “The book is in place, completely intact except for those two pages.”

“How do you know what’s missing then?” Mary questioned.

“The alternate timeline that Hera had placed us in gave us clues to the person involved, the way to kill the Empusa that was attacking the grounds and a glimpse of the spell used to call the Olympians.”  Beth explained as Sam leaned over to inspect the pages. “The ones we need, the spell and the counter are missing.”

“How?”  Sam whispered.  

“The book was missing for eighty years before Charlie Bradbury found it,” Beth whispered, knowing her name alone might hurt the boys.  “Think about that…  _ eighty years… _ and my uncle had all the time in the world to plan this, after Charlie, the book went to Rowena, after her it disappeared into the bayou only to end up in Marie Laveau’s grave.  Peter had every opportunity out there to take what he needed, to make sure that everything was in place. And more than that, Leita had started this spell long before we were targeted.  It could have been that coven.”

“How do we find it?” Dean questioned and watched as Beth turned to Cas, who was standing in the corner of the room.  The man stepped forward, his arms crossed as he looked down at the book.

“We need Crowley,” Cas replied which got a nasty look from Sam as Dean shook his head.

“There is no way we are letting that Demon anywhere close to Beth!”  Dean snapped.

“We need him to locate Rowena,” Cas specified, which got a concerned looked from Sam.  “She’s been off the radar for far too long, and even though she may not be strong enough to pull it off herself, she is certainly strong enough to help.”

“So we bring in Crowley, what then?”  Dean continued.

“Then we find the bastard, and put a bullet into his brain,” Beth whispered and Sam watched as her eyes went ghost once again, but the flash was gone just as quickly as it came.  There was something she wasn’t telling them. Something more that she had learned on the other timeline and he knew he had to get it out of her, one way or another.

 

Mary felt Castiel gently take her arm as he lead her towards the stairs and the two left them in peace as Beth leaned against the table. She looked at each of them and shook her head, not sure how she should start the story of what exactly happened to her but she took a deep breath.

“I honestly don’t know how you two, or even Becca woke up in that alternate timeline but I woke up with this,” she tapped her fingers on the book, “in my hands.”

“What?”  Dean questioned. Thank God for Dean and the one word expressions.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”  Sam whispered and Beth shrugged.

“I didn’t think it was real, hell I didn’t think anything in that place was real.  I woke up, sitting on my bed with this book open on my lap, opened to a page I couldn’t read and I got dressed.”  Beth stepped back, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she paced the counter space against the wall. “I knew something was off about where we were, or where I was at least.  It didn’t feel right, I thought maybe if I tried to act normal, it would come back to me.

“I put on my jeans, my shirt, hell I was slipping on my jacket when I came down the stairs, my boots even fit me perfectly, so why was I so out of place?” She stopped for a moment and thought about what she was telling them.  “When I yelled down the stairs to Becca, I wasn’t completely positive that I would get a reply back but when I saw the two of you standing at the check in, something clicked. It wasn’t an “oh, yeah, I’m right where I’m supposed to be”, kind of deal more like, an “I’m just going to go with it”.

“I had intended on leaving the house, getting in my car and letting my “life” there take me to what I was meant to do, and then the call came in and I was on automatic pilot,” she licked her lips, biting on her bottom one for only a second before she looked up at them.  “When you showed up on the scene and when Sam asked if I liked hunting, I knew something was up, I knew that we were all there for a reason. It wasn’t a dream.”

“Okay, so alternate timeline aside, you’ve seen this before?”  Sam questioned and watched her nod. 

“Everything in that timeline, I have seen before, right down to the CSI room, but it wasn’t in the basement of the library, it was in an actual facility when I was undercover once.”  She stepped back to the table and looked down at the book. “This I saw as a child, in a bag that belonged to Leita before she left. My mother was cleaning out things and found the bag in a back storage room. I guess Dad was waiting for Peter to pick it up, or for Serena to be old enough to get it.  The thing is, I was younger than four when I saw it, I was flipping through it like a picture book and I stopped to look at this page and it just held me.”

“You saw it, didn’t you?”  Becca asked and Beth nodded. “You know the spell?”

“I don’t,” she admitted but she turned towards the old fireplace, where the television had sat before the moved it up to the house.  She popped the panel on the right side and pulled out a stack of old papers.

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” Dean whispered as she set the pile down.

“These are old drawings that my dad kept with his journal,” Beth whispered, and glanced at the three, “I took them out before I started hunting because some of this shit is downright scary.”

Becca started flipping through them and her face went completely blank.  “This is an original exorcism, pages from the Black Grimoire, scriptures from a Satanic bible, I take that back  _ THE _ Satanic Bible!”  Becca looked up at her, “what the hell was your father into, Beth?”

“You got me,” she shrugged and watched as her friend pulled out a drawing. It was obviously a child’s rendering of something but as Becca laid it down against the book where the pages had been ripped out, the similarities were undeniable. “That’s it!”

“This is your drawing?”  Becca whispered, and smiled, proud of her friend.  “Your language at four was amazing, but some of the words are missing.”

“I know,” and the boys looked up at her.  “That’s where the alternate timeline comes into play.”

“How?”  Sam questioned.

“Remember the CSI room, the pictures I showed you about the spell in the Book?”  Dean watched as Sam nodded. He must not have been paying that close attention but he knew Sam was.  “I remember every detail of that page that I woke up looking at.”

“You can write it?”  Becca questioned and watched as she nodded.

Dean’s insides turned as his eyes caught hers and she swallowed hard.  “I think I know what the spell is about.” Becca waited for her to finish as she glanced back and forth from Sam to Dean and back.  “The counter spell,” she watched the fear in his face rise to his eyes and Sam stood up straight, ready for anything. “It’s me.”


	17. The Case of the Creepy Painting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The portrait of Dorian Gray... Winchester style.

“The Case of the Creepy Painting”

SPN FanFic #17

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

Then

 

Little five-year-old fingers scribbled the red border on the paper beneath her arms as she lay on the floor humming to herself.   She was bopping her head back and forth to the music in her head. It was a song that her father played all the time, one with a strange melody, a haunting set of words that made her think of the darkness in her room.

She heard the car pull up, but didn’t budge from the spot where she lay, in the middle of the cold cement floor of the garage.  The next sound was the rattling of the door as the chain helped it roll up the sliders and the light from outside invaded her cool hiding spot.  She turned, the light of the setting sun hitting her bright blue eyes and she took in the silhouette that stood in the middle of the large opening.

She turned her head back, not at all phased by the intrusion and began to work on that red border, ones with fancy lines and letters that she didn’t understand but thought looked really nice swirled into the background.  What little light she was using, which came from the open kitchen door was blocked by the silhouette who insisted on interrupting. 

With a sigh she looked up at her father, his smiling face looking down as he squatted in front of her.    
She put her crayon back in the plastic bucket with the rest of them and sat up on her knees, her long dark hair flowing down over her face as he reached out and pushed it away.

“Beth, you have to move so I can bring the car in,” he whispered, his voice was always so sweet when he first came home.

“But, Daddy, this is where it wants me to draw,” she replied, her little voice full of demand.

“I know, sweetheart, but I don’t want to pull too far in and accidently run you over, so we’re going to move your drawings and you can go back to them after dinner.”  Paul watched as she sighed but her curious eyes turned to the shadow standing in the kitchen door.

“Who’s that?” Paul knew she would be the first to see them and he sighed.

“Listen, Kitten, Daddy had to bring some friends home for a little while.” 

Paul watched as Beth quietly packed up her book, stuffing the papers she was working on inside, and the container of crayons without another word. She placed them on the shelf and headed towards the shadow that stood in the doorway.  Paul was right behind as the small boy, just Beth’s size stepped back and let them through. The blue-green eyes of the boy connected with Beth’s and never let go.

He watched as the two of them moved towards the living room, still without introductions and sat down on the floor across from each other, both sitting the same way, studying their faces, until Beth did something Paul hadn’t seen her do in over a year, she reached out and touched the boy’s face.  He drew in a breath and glanced over at the rugged looking man who had just entered the kitchen after pulling the rumbling Impala into the garage. John Winchester looked at the pair in the room and patted Paul on the shoulder.

“She hasn’t wanted to be touched by anyone since the accident,” Paul whispered, stuffing his hands in the pockets of the roughed up jeans he wore.  “She hasn’t let anyone touch her.” He watched as the boy reached up and gently took her hand. “I haven’t been able to hug my baby in a year.”

“It took Dean a long time to start talking after we lost Mary,” John spoke softly.  “Sammy’s always been able to bring it out in people.”

“You have some special boys, John.”  Paul walked away but John stood and watched the silent interaction between the two five-year-olds with curiosity.  

“Where’s Dean?” John questioned and Paul looked up from the fridge.

“He’s out on the porch with Serena,” Beth’s little voice whispered, which made John turn quickly in her direction because she hadn’t moved from the spot where she sat staring at Sam.  

Paul laughed as he grabbed two beers and handed one to his friend.  “She’ll do that a lot to you,” he smiled and offered John a seat at the table, “Little Miss Know-It-All, she likes to keep tabs on all of us.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind the boys being here when I take off?”  

Both Beth and Sam turned to watch their fathers sit down at the kitchen table, they never said a word just watched the conversation that went back and forth between the two men.  Paul didn’t want the boys in the hotel. Dean may have been nine but there was no way that it was going to go over well if they were found. As long as they were in New York, the boys had a home to come to, and so did John.

Beth leaned over, close to Sam and whispered into his ear, “do you want to see my drawings?”

Sam looked at her, at the mischief in her eyes and he smiled, the glimmer of trouble reaching his own and Beth took his hand.  The two of them ran off giggling towards the garage.

 

NOW

 

“Beth?”  Dean’s voice seemed to echo in her ear as she stood staring at the Impala that was parked behind her Mustang.  She thought back to that very moment, the one that introduced the Winchesters into her life and she turned to face him as he looked out over the field, a smile on her face.

“I’m right here, Dean, there’s no need to yell,” she replied and watched him turn around, and take the four steps from the porch.  He shivered at the chill in the air and stepped up beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to pull her close, but Beth wasn’t sure if it was because he needed the warmth or she did.  “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Dean shrugged and kissed her on the head, “Sammy’s having one of his freak-out moments, so I thought I would find you before he starts asking.”

“Where am I going to go, Dean?”  Beth stepped away from him and looked around the big space that surrounded them.  “I’m pretty sure he jacked the keys to my car, and if he didn’t do that yet, then there is probably a spark plug missing which means, I’m not taking the Mustang out of here and you have such a tight grip on the Impala keys, I’m surprised that you’re not dying of some sort of metal poisoning.”

“We’re just concerned,” he sighed.

“Because I’m the key to stopping this thing?” She questioned, “Or because you know I’m just like you and I’m about to go off after it myself?”

“Pretty much…both,” He stated and listened to her exhale, something that took the tension off her shoulders as she turned and rubbed her eyes.  “You can’t blame us for being paranoid, Bee.”

“I know you love me and would do anything for me,” she smiled up at him as she walked over and took hold of his heavy flannel shirt. “And I love that about you both, but I need room to breathe too.”

“You mean like a case?”  He questioned and watched her nod.  “Look, I’ll talk to him, maybe we can get out of here for a little bit, at least until we can track down the exact location of Elkins or until Becca can make heads or tails out of your crappy drawings.”

Beth took a swing at him, and caught him in the arm as Dean pretended to wince at the pain.  “I was five, you snot!” Dean took her hand and kissed it as the two of them walked inside. “At least they’re better than Becca’s stick figures. You would think, for a witch, she would be able to doodle better than that.”

“You do realize I’m sitting right here in the room?”  Becca questioned as Beth smiled and hugged the woman from behind as she sat at the table.

Sam walked down the hallway and stopped, glancing up at Dean, who put his hand up to calm his brother down just a bit, as Beth looked over Becca’s shoulder.  She snatched the pencil from her hand and leaned in closer.

“That’s wrong,” she whispered and stuck her tongue out just a bit as she changed the way the drawing was shaped before she tilted her head a little and contemplated what she had just done.  “Yep, that’s it.”

“How do you even know?”  Becca questioned, looking up at her as Beth snatched one of the cookies from the plate on the counter and shrugged.  “How much of it do you actually remember?”

“I’m getting bits and pieces,” she sighed and looked at Dean, her eyes going wide as she gestured towards Sam.  Dean rolled his eyes like a teenage girl and walked over to his brother, gripping Sam by the arm as the two of them walked down the hallway.

 

Sam’s look was pure irritation as Dean let go of his arm.  The younger brother had been in a bitchy mood since finding out about Beth’s connection to the missing pages but Dean could see there was something else getting under his skin.

“What?”  Sam snapped.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”  Dean questioned and watched Sam stare off down towards the kitchen.  “Look, you have been raring to go from the jump, Sammy, but Beth needs you to be sane about this.”

Sam fought for the words but couldn’t seem to get any out.  His mouth opened to speak but there was nothing he could possibly come up with to explain how he was feeling.

“I think we need to go,” Dean suggested, and watched Sam turn to him.  “You need out, so does Beth, we need to be on the move.” That was it, those were the words that Sam was looking for.  “I get it, okay, I get that you hate the road, we’ve found something here but right now, our home is too full.”

“I just want some peace, Dean,” Sam sighed, “and I never thought I would say this but some dank, dirty, cheap-ass motel room sounds pretty good right now.”

“We’ve been hunting and moving forever, Sam,” Dean watched his brother start to relax and brace himself against the wall.  “Beth needs to get out, you need it, hell, I could go for a good tag and bag myself. So why not let the geeks do what the geeks do and we do what we need to.”

“Geeks?”  Sam smiled and watched as Dean grinned.  

“You know, witchy geeks.”

“And Mom?”  Dean shrugged.  

“We can’t bring everyone, and still have it be our time away,” Dean replied.

Sam couldn’t believe that he was making so much sense but he had pinpointed just what Sam couldn’t get out.  They needed to get away and hunt something…anything to relieve the stress. 

“So, what do you say?  Should we go on a hunting trip?”  Dean gave him a sly smile and Sam shook his head.  

“Those words started this so many years ago,” Sam laughed and crossed his arms, glancing up at Dean from under his hair.  “Yeah, let’s go hunting.”

Dean gave him a wide smile, patted him on the arm and took off towards his room, probably to pack as Sam turned and moved towards the kitchen.  This wasn’t going to be an easy one to explain, but he saw the look of need on Beth’s face, probably the same one he had on his and that Dean tried to hide behind his mask.  Sam gave her a little nod and watched as she let all the tension out, her shoulders relaxing as she closed her eyes and finished the cookie in her hand.

 

It took Sam less than two hours to come up with a lead, and a good one, that would take them out of town for just a few nights.  Dean sat on his favorite chair, foot up on the table as Beth sat across his lap, her head on his shoulder as Sam paced the room in front of them.  Mary sat in the chair across from Dean and looked the couple over and noticed the silver ring on Beth’s finger as she played with the collar of his shirt, while Cas and Becca sat on the couch.  Dean whispered against Beth’s forehead trying to hide behind her ear as he smiled against her skin.

“Sam, what’s going on?”  Mary questioned and watched as Sam stopped pacing and looked at her.

“We have a case,” Sam finally spit out and watched their reactions, seeing nothing but confusion.  Sam looked over at Dean for help and he watched as his brother just sat grinning at Beth. Sam cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows and gestured for him to help out.  Beth moved so Dean could stand and the two of them now stood in front of room. “Dean got a call this morning from Gene Madison, a hunter in Pennsylvania,” Dean looked over at him quickly, shocked that he had used his name and snatched the paper from Sam’s hand, which turned out to be a newspaper article.  “Some pretty intense things happening at the Dozer Mansion. He’s not sure what’s going on, the guy is new to everything that has to do with hunting and I guess this is just beyond his experience.”

“So what are you saying?”  Becca asked.

“We’re going down to help,” Beth spoke up and they all looked at them.  “When things happen people call these two, it’s just how it works. When you need the best, you go with the best and these two, well…”

“But now?”  

“Bad timing, but it needs to be done,” Dean answered.

“And you need all three of you?”  Mary inquired. 

“Actually, they do,” Cas spoke up, “the connection they have makes them better hunters so the three of them being together is absolutely necessary.”  Sam closed his eyes for just a second and reminded himself to thank the angel later. “We’ll be fine while you’re gone, it will give us time to work on the missing pages of the book by using Beth’s drawings.”

“Great,” Sam said and looked at his brother.  “We need to leave soon, it’s a good five hours from here and Gene wanted to meet us before nightfall.”

Beth stood and rushed into the bedroom, trying to pretend to get her stuff ready, but she had been packed for days, not sure if she was going to make a run for it, or if she was going to need a night to herself but the bag was all set, including the crossbow that she always took on hunts with her.  Sam walked in the room, followed closely by Dean, who made sure the door was shut and locked behind him.

“I’ve never felt like I was about to be eaten before, but did you see their faces?”  Dean whispered as he turned and looked at Sam and Beth, “we might need to make a break through the window.”

“I know it’s not the ideal time, but thank you both for understanding,” Beth whispered as she watched Sam grab his pack as well. 

“All three of us need to get away, Beth,” Sam sighed and walked over to her.  He placed his hands on her waist and gave her hips a little squeeze as he leaned down and kissed her softly.  “I never thought I would say this but I’m so ready for a road trip.”

“Speaking of road trips, what the hell was with the newspaper?”  Dean questioned and Sam laughed as he wrapped his arms around the woman in front of him.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said something strange was going on there,” Sam shrugged. “That article was from this morning.  The Dozer Mansion a historical monument in Berwick, but lately things have been going a little loopy.”

“Loopy?” Dean cracked, “that’s a term we’re using now?”

“People have gone missing in the house,” Sam sighed, “I’ll explain more on the way, we do have a five hour drive.”

“Well, let’s get rockin’ then.”  Dean unlocked the door and slipped into his room to grab his bag as Sam smile down at the woman in his arms.

“Not the best honeymoon ever but I promise I will give you one that you will never forget when this is done and over,” Beth looked up at him, grinning.

“Alone time with the two of you, as weird as it may seem or sound, is the only thing I want right now.”  

“Both of us?”  Sam winked and felt her slap him hard on the ass.  

“You know what I mean,” Beth stepped away from him, grabbing her bag as she headed for the door, “besides, I miss Baby’s backseat.”

Sam could only grin as he snatched the bag off the bed and headed out after her. Sam braced himself for the onslaught of emotions from the others but Becca, Cas and Mary just stood, watching as the three of them packed the bags into the trunk of the Impala and Beth smiled when that trunk slammed shut.  She hugged Becca, and Cas but when she stopped at Mary, the two women looked at each other and slowly Mary took her left hand, holding up the silver ring so that they both could see it.

“When you get back, how about we have a little talk?”  Mary smiled, but it wasn’t threatening and Beth felt her face flush as she did nothing but nod. 

Mary took her in a strange embrace and Beth looked at the boys, pleading for help.  The woman released her and slowly Beth moved away, giving her a glance over her shoulder before stepping onto the passenger’s side of the car.  Sam hugged his mother last, after Becca and Cas and promised to be safe as he too moved and stood next to Beth, holding her hand where the others couldn’t see.  It was Mary’s reaction to Dean that had all three smiling.

“You take care of your brother,” she whispered as she placed her hands on Dean’s face and he rested his fingers gently on hers.

“Always,” Dean whispered and watched as she glanced passed him.

“And Beth, keep watch over Beth and bring all three of you back safe.”  This made Dean smile as he nodded.

“She’s in good hands,” he assured her as he stepped back and opened the door to the car, slipped in and started the engine.  The rumble it made gave Beth the chills and she and Sam followed suit, ducking into the car before Dean waved and drove off down the drive, turning left at the end. “And, here we go.”

 

Dean watched as Beth rearranged everything that was in the backseat, she even moved the old green cooler to her side so she could put stuff on it before she fluffed the pillows up against the door and laid down, stretching out as much as she could.  He smiled and nudged Sam who saw her caress the interior under her fingers.

“Hey, Baby, I missed you,” she mumbled as the earbuds went in and the strap went across her waist.  Sam could almost hear the music from where he sat on the right side of the car and he smiled over at his brother.

“So, one of us is already enjoying this little road trip,” Sam laughed and watched as Dean’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel.  Just to see him smile, Sam pushed the cassette into the deck and listened to the sounds of Kansas come over the front speakers. Dean looked at him quickly and grinned. 

“So we are gassed up, snacked up and we have our own little nutcase in the backseat,” Dean peeked over at his brother.  “Feels like old times already,” but Sam laughed as he glanced in the rearview at the nice little birdy that was flipping Dean off, “yep, definitely old times.”

 

Two hours into the trip and Beth hadn’t fallen asleep, in fact she was doing a great air guitar to whatever song she was listening to as she watched the trees whip by and the clouds shift out the back window of the Impala, it took her back to another time, when she was sitting in the back of her Dad’s old 1970 GTX.  There wasn’t a whole lot of room with all of his stuff, but she loved the fact that she was packed in nice and tight. 

They were following John and she wished that she was up there in the seat next to Sam, not because she wanted to be next to him, but because of the bad feeling in her gut. She dug out the papers and crayons that she kept in her pack and worked on the red-boarded drawing she had spent months perfecting.  This time though it was almost done. 

The red itself was solid, with the symbols and squiggles each in its place.  She had worked on the interior design, a double circle with a six–pointed star in the middle but it was the words on the outside that she had to get just right.  She didn’t remember where she had first seen them but it was an image that was stuck in her mind. Words in funny letters, not English, not even in the Latin that her father was teaching her to read but some other strange symbolic, and scary language that whispered over and over in her mind, the whisper she drowned out with the hum of the song her father played.

 

Dean looked up as she hummed, he knew the song, “Stairway to Heaven”, and remembered the first time he had found her humming it.  Sam sat with a pad of paper in his lap, making up stories as he and Beth hid in the garage, the little girl laying on the floor as she drew, Sam talking away to her even though she wasn’t listening, or at least he thought until she answered Sam in just the right way.  She was drawing, again, always drawing. 

It was then that he saw her hand moving and quickly tapped his younger brother on the shoulder.  Sam who was enjoying the ride, looked over at Dean, who motioned for a pen and paper and then gestured a thumb towards the backseat.  Digging through the laptop bag, Sam pulled out a pad and pen and slipped it slowly into her hand. In amazement he watched the motions of her hands become lines on the paper, even as she continued to stare out the window.

“What is she doing?” Dean questioned, and Sam shrugged.

“Automatic drawing,” he whispered and watched as she continued, “like ghost writing.”

“Well, she’s not possessed,” Dean glanced in the rearview, “at least we know that much for sure.”

“No, I don’t think it’s that kind of writing, I think she’s remembering,” he sat forward but turned the mirror so he could see her, which surprisingly didn’t get much of response from Dean about touching his stuff.  “She used to draw a lot when we were small, she was at it all the time.”

“I know, I saw,” Sam turned to Dean, surprised that he had ever seen anything when they were that young, “I was supposed to protect you, remember, so even when Dad was there, so was I.  Beth became mine to protect too, and I used to watch the two of you in the garage.”

“You never said anything.”

“There wasn’t a need, she was drawing and you were talking,” Dean shot him a glance and then turned back to the road, “you were always talking to her.”

“Yeah, she listened, and when she talked back, there was so much she had to say,” Sam stopped for a minute and thought about their conversations.  “Hey, what if her stories weren’t really stories but something…real?”

“Then she was the smartest five-year-old we knew,” Dean smiled, but watched the seriousness of Sam’s expression.  “You mean you think they were using her as some sort of prophet?”

“Some of her stories were really out there, Dean.” Sam let the scenery take him into his thoughts but all he did was shake his head.  “I wish I could remember them.”

“Yeah, me too.”  He looked up to see Beth staring at him, but not directly at him, at the mirror he was looking into.  “You okay, Kid?” Beth didn’t respond, she just went back to humming and looked down at the drawing, picking up where she left off. “That song, Sam.”

“Yeah, Paul used to play it all the time.”

“I don’t think he played it because he liked it,” Dean raised an eyebrow and sighed, “I think he played it because she was always humming it.”

“Maybe,” Sam pulled out the journal in his bag, Paul’s journal and started flipping through the pages.  “There could be something we missed.”

“Read on,” Dean checked his speed, “We’ve got about three hours.”

 

It wasn’t more than four in the afternoon when that Impala pulled up to the front of the large Victorian style mansion and cut the engine.  Sam slipped out and stood with his arms resting on the top of the roof as Beth got out on Dean’s side stretching as she looked over the outside, taking in the Vermont stonework that made up the large building.

“Well, this isn’t at all creepy,” Dean stated sarcastically as the three of them began to walk the grounds.  Sam gently took Beth’s hand as she found herself mesmerized by the second floor of the house, while Sam himself was unsure of the third floor.  Dean’s eyes scanned the grounds and watched as a nervous man approached. He was headed right towards them and as the three of them stopped both men placed themselves in a defensive position, keeping Beth safe, which she rolled her eyes at because she was perfectly capable of protecting herself. Dean reached behind his coat for the Colt but stopped as he suddenly recognized the man.

“Gene?”  Beth always got the chills from Dean’s voice, no matter the tone and this time wasn’t any different. Sam glanced down at her, even as her eyes were fixed on the windows above them and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I don’t like this place,” she whispered, stepping closer to him and Sam gave it another once-over.

“Me either,” Sam replied and turned back to the stout man with a receding hairline and glasses.  He tried not to smile because hunters came in all shapes, sizes and age but Gene looked more like a techie than a hunter.  

“Gene, this is my brother Sam, and this is Beth,” Dean introduced and watched the man nod before his eyes locked on Dean.  “What do you got?”

“I’m not sure,” he said pointedly and gestured with his hand, “follow me.”

The four of them made their way to the back of the building and entered through what would have been the kitchen entrance to the basement. As they reached the bottom, Gene turned and looked at them, making sure that they were alone.

“So?”  Sam questioned and watched as he rubbed his hands together.

“Over the last two weeks six people have disappeared, no one knows why but they’re just gone,” Gene started and Dean looked up at his brother.  

“This makes it one of ours why?”  Dean shrugged.

“So, I should have said not disappeared completely.”

“That makes less sense,” Beth interrupted.

“Just start from the beginning.”  Dean crossed his arms and watched as the man paced.

“Okay, so two weeks ago, we began reconstruction on the third floor,” Gene walked them over to the blueprints that were sitting out on the old table and Sam watched as Beth went off to explore on her own.  The boys looked down at where Gene was pointing, one of the largest rooms on the top floor of the building. “It started pretty simple, there was no issues with the rebuild, until they hit this one wall, I swear the house started to growl.”

“Growl?”  Dean looked at him sideways, “like a Hellhound growl?”

“Like we just pissed off the house.”  Sam got what he was going for and watched as he moved his fingers around to a different spot in the room. 

“You said “not completely disappeared”, what did you mean?”  Beth questioned as she walked over to the table.

“Well, four people have been found on the property, but the cameras in the area all have them recorded as walking around the grounds after the time of death, the others, it’s a little more strange.”  Gene took them up the back stairway, away from the touring crowds and up to the third floor. “The other two swore they saw themselves before they died of apparent natural causes.”

“Saw themselves?  Sam questioned and looked over the tarp covered floors of the large room they stepped into.  “Like a mirror image?”

“Yeah and strangely enough, that was caught on tape too,” Gene smiled and walked them into the back room where the security monitors were set up.

“Security on the third floor, pretty strange place to put it,” Beth observed, stepping back out of the crowded space so she could take a look around. She listened to the sounds that were on the recording, the way that the boys reacted to it, but her interests were more of the painting at the end of the hall.  There was something about that that seemed familiar.

It was just like any old mural, a house, some animals, a blue sky but completely out of place in the ballroom of a three-story mansion.  As she stepped closer, her ears filled with the sounds of what might be going on in the painting. It wasn’t her getting sucked into it, but a memory from when she was little.  That was when she saw it, out of the corner of her eyes. A black blurry shape passed down the open hallway door, and she glanced back at the boys before slowly following, her hand tucked behind her on the handle of the gun.

Her footfalls were silent and her eyes sharp as she moved forward into three bedrooms, surveying each one before she backed out and placed herself against the wall, making sure there was nothing behind her as well as in front.  The fourth room was completely empty, but the last room on the end seemed to be used as a storage closet for everything not needed in the ballroom. 

This room felt off to her, not just because of the strange shapes that hid behind the frosted plastic but because of the draw to go in there.  She clicked back the slide, caught her breath and stepped into the crowded space. A black shadow moved from one darkened corner to the other as Beth paced herself, checking around every corner as she went. She made it to the back of the room without spotting another living soul but that never meant that she was completely alone. 

It was there, tucked in the back corner that she saw the portrait.  A man, not much older than thirty in the painting, but his eyes were so intense.  She couldn’t help but feel the emotions in them. As she stepped closer, her heart quickened because his eyes seemed to follow her. She knew it was an artistic trick but there wasn’t anything funny about the way his eyes moved, like he knew just where she was going to step next.

A noise from the front of the room caught her attention and she glanced towards it for just a quick second.  When she looked back at the painted, his brow was creased in anger and those eyes seemed to send out shock and hatred towards her.  Beth felt the fear growing as she backed up, her breathing coming in quick gasps and once she turned the corner, the painting out of sight, she moved as fast as she could until she reached the room the boys were in.

Sam stood as he watched her screech to a halt, her boots catching on the tarp, and he noticed the gun in her hand.  The look of shock and fear in her eyes had him passed Dean in two steps and his arms wrapped around her in mere seconds.  Beth shook, completely thrown off from what had just happened and she squinted her eyes, trying to shut out the sudden onslaught of noise.

“I have to get out of here!”  She stated, and felt Sam’s hands on her face, but her eyes were tightly shut.  “Please, Sam, I need to go!”

Dean stood and looked at the two of them as Sam walked with her towards the stairway.  He could feel Beth’s emotions, knew just what Sam was thinking and as he looked down at the security camera, watched the black shadow move out of the furthest bedroom down the hall towards them. 

“Wait, back it up, what was that?”  Dean questioned and watched the video again when Gene reset it.  “That’s a shadow figure.”

“Aren’t they usually attached to something?”  Gene questioned.

“Or someone, keep it rolling.” Dean made his way out of the room and followed the path that Beth had took only minutes before but when he made it down to the furthest bedroom, there was nothing there, no signs of anyone, or anything out of the ordinary.  He pulled the EMF from the inside pocket of his coat and flipped it on, there wasn’t any noise from the machine as scanned the room but he was seeing things, Gene had seen it too, which means somewhere around the house was a free roaming shadow figure. When he got back to the security room, Gene had shut down all the camera.  “What gives?”

“The power just surged and shut everything down,” he stated in an angry voice.  “We’ve never had a surge in this building before.”

“Nothing happened outside the room, there wasn’t a flicker of lights or cold spot anywhere in the hallway or any of the rooms.” Dean followed Gene as he headed down the stairs, probably to look for a circuit box, but Dean stopped to look at Sam and Beth, who were standing just outside the doorway, not twenty feet from the building. “We’re going to look deeper into the history and get back to you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, I have to figure out just what the hell happened up there,” Gene replied as he disappeared into the darkness of the kitchen.  

Dean stepped outside and walked straight up to Sam and Beth. “Let’s get the hell out of here, something in this place isn’t sitting right with me.”

“You and me both,” Beth responded and the three of them headed for the car. 

 

The motel room was just what Sam wanted, a table, a few chairs, two beds, a dusty old television and some great water pressure, but as he settled onto the bed closest to the small divider wall, he glanced up at Beth, who was putting away the things in her bag. It was the exact same way she had always done it, there was a method to the two drawers her items took up but as he watched her backside, she looked up in the mirror above the dresser and smiled at him.

Dean came in, his coat not dripping but definitely wet from the rain that had just started and he stripped it off to hang it up.  His phone and gun were in his hand and he gently set both down on the table as he walked by, kissing Beth on the cheek as he tossed Sam a candy bar, something the younger brother had requested.

“So, the house seems all in order,”  Dean spoke up, breaking the eye contact that the two love birds had been holding and Sam glanced over at him.  “I gave them the lowdown on the mansion and managed to get some answers about how things were going  _ before  _ the interrogation began and disconnected the call before my head was bitten off.”

“Are they really that pissed?”  Sam sighed and Beth turned to lean against the dresser. “And are they more pissed about us leaving or not letting the cat out of the bag sooner.”

“Do you think Cas or Becca told your mom?”  Beth looked at one than the other as both shrugged.  “Well, we’ll have to tell her sometime.”

“Any word from Gene?”  Dean watched as Sam picked up his cell and looked for missed calls or text but shook his head and put it back down.  “What the hell is in that house?”

“I saw a shadow figure, but when I went in that back room…” Beth rubbed her lip with her finger and began to pace.  “You both know the story of Dorian Gray, right?”

“Yeah, guy gets a portrait done and finds out that he can do what he wants because everything gets transferred to it.  He never keeps an injury and he never gets old.” Dean fessed up and both Sam and Beth turned their heads in his direction.  “What? I saw a movie on it once.”

“Ever think of picking up a book?”  Beth smiled and watched him reach for the pillow.  “Ah, wait, I’m making a point.”

“You better get to it quick because my throwing arm is a little trigger happy,” Dean laughed.

“So, the portrait become Dorian’s vessel, that which takes on everything that Gray experiences and indulges in including drugs, self-harm, his anger, his rage, his self-loathing and he remains beautiful, but where did it all begin?”  

“According to the book Wotton introduces Dorian to a “hedonistic” worldview, do what you want, screw the consequences,” Sam spoke up and watched as she grabbed his laptop from the counter and brought up the pictures of the man who ran the mansion.

“Coronal William Dozer, husband, wounded war hero, father, and if he were alive today, multi-millionaire.”  Beth set the laptop down so the two of them could see the painting. He looked no older than twenty, his curly hair parted on one side as he wore a neatly pressed suit and tie.  

“Alright, so we’ve got an old painting, what of it?” Dean looked up at her.

“And what does this have to do with Dorian Gray?”

“That painting was Dozer at the age of thirty-eight, months before he died of consumption, or so they say.”  Beth typed in a few more things and turned the computer again, and let them look at a photograph taken not more than a few weeks ago.  She tapped on the screen at the man in the background. 

“It could be his grandson,” Dean sat back and smiled as her fingers did some more digging.  

“Dozer’s body was never viewed, which was tradition back then, and it wasn’t buried.”  Beth hopped up on the dresser and crossed her legs, placing the laptop against her knees.  “According to records, he was cremated immediately after death, so there would be no remains to have a ghost, right?”

“Theoretically,” Sam whispered.  

“Unless you commissioned someone to restore your painting with the ashes of your body mixed into the paint,” Beth watched as they sat forward on the bed.  “Historians have posted documents confirming that William Dozer hired one Syman Basil, which is what made me bring up Dorian Gray, to make sure that the painting always looked as if it were freshly done so that no one would remember how he looked on his deathbed.  And, keeping up with such a historic decree, local painters have volunteered every year to make sure that the portrait has been given a fresh coat of paint, with ashes from Dozer’s urn as one of the main ingredients.”

“Okay, so explain the deaths?”  Dean watched as she smiled. 

“I’m working on that part but I do know that none of them were accidental.” Sam sat back and watched the expressions on her face as she typed, and Dean tossed the pillow at his smitten brother, who tossed the pillow back, still concentrating on the woman.  “The first man to die on the property, Albert Reagan, was the next commissioned artist for the painting but apparently refused to go along with the stipulations that the ashes be added.”

“So, did he do it?”  

“From what the pictures say,” she turned and let them see the photographs of Reagan working on the painting.  But she turned it back and scrolled through the once more. “The paper stated that Reagan was believed to have been suffering from a mental break as he was seen by more than a half-dozen people talking to himself, scratch that, arguing with himself as he walked the grounds.  One woman went as far as to say that he was “replying to himself in a different voice”.”

“Unless it wasn’t his voice at all,” Sam was getting the picture now. “A doppelgänger can manifest as duplicate of a living person.”

“We’ve run into them a few times, nasty sons of bitches,” Dean added.

“But they are also considered harbingers of bad luck, or death,” Beth closed the laptop and got lost in her own thoughts.  “What if the thing that Reagan was talking to wasn’t just his double but a manifestation from the painting, something that powerful would have to come with some strong magic and there had to be a reason that Dozer commissioned it in the first place.”

“Like the guy in the picture,” Sam reached out for the computer and smiled as Beth crawled up on the bed to give it to him.  “The “grandson” in the photograph could be Dozer’s own doppelgänger but he’s so powerful that he can make it real.”

“He could also be a shifter,” Dean crossed his arms as he sat back against the headboard.  “Think about it. If the painting is the source of his power, maybe he’s using it to keep his body from getting old, which means he’s shifting from one skin to the next. Wrapping some poor bastard’s flesh on like a newly tailored office casual”

“Two monsters, one place,” Beth added and watched as Sam nodded. “But what about the shadow figure?”

“His spirit without the body,” Sam suggested, “so, we’re in for something new at least.”

“Yeah, new and confusing, not like the last nine months haven’t been a cakewalk.”  Beth lay back, stretching out the width of the end of the bed, her knees hanging of the end closest to Dean.  “So we’ve got Dozer, a man who is possessing a painting, but using black magic to shift into the version of himself that he wants to be, but when he doesn’t get his way he uses said powers to become a doppelgänger, scared the living bejesus out of those who have wronged him and can become a shadow figure until he finds just the right body.” 

“In a nutshell,” Sam sighed as he flipped through the website.

“Perfect,” Beth whispered annunciating the T at the end and Dean got up, walked over to his bag and pulled out the bottle of whiskey.

“So tomorrow, they’re having an open house at the Mansion, apparently they’re celebrating a milestone,” Sam continued, and Beth glanced over at the weird face he was making while Dean poured himself a glass.  “One hundred and forty years.”

“Isn’t one-fifty a milestone?” Dean questioned and downed the drink, which made him cough.  

Beth was taken back to the scene in the kitchen when Dean took the shot of her father’s favorite beverage and downed it in one swallow. “And that’s why I don’t drink,” she had told him, walking away.  Beth shook it off and turned to see the concerned look on Sam’s face. She rolled off the bed and made her way to the drawer, took out the pad that Sam had given her in the car and sat down at the table, letting her memories wash over her as she sketched out what was on her mind.

“Apparently they celebrate every ten years,” Sam continued as he gave Dean a raised brow and tossed a glance in Beth’s direction.

“Hell, we should start celebrating that,” the older one joked and watched as Beth got lost in the drawings, “at the rate we’re going.”

“Dean,” Sam snapped but watched the smile cross over his brother’s face.  The two of them faced each other, as Dean sat down on the bed and Sam watched the older one swirl the amber liquid in the glass. “So, night break-in or wait for open access tomorrow at the celebration.”

“What gives us the best chance of not being caught?” Dean laughed and Sam nodded in agreement.

“Celebration,” both replied in unison and Sam closed the laptop, Dean flopped back on the bed and the television clicked on as Dean grabbed the remote.

Beth looked up from her notes, as if the sound had jarred her loose from her thoughts and she placed the pen down.  For a moment it looked as if she didn’t know where she was, but she stretched and made her way over to the bed, where she laid down beside Sam, her back curled up to him as he placed an arm under her neck so he could wrap it around her shoulder and she watched Dean.  Sam moved the computer to the table beside him and turned over, pressing up against her as his arm came down across her waist, nestling her against his warmth and Dean looked over, giving the blue eyes girl a wink.

Beth reached her hand out to him and Dean, who was sitting in the middle of the bed, moved over towards the edge, just so he could grab on to whatever tiny amount of her he could, as Sam looked on, smiling.

The rain beat against the windows of the room.  A clash of lightning lit up everything around them and Beth sat up in bed, her breathing quickened.  There was no noise except the sound of the water against the glass but slowly, she slipped out of bed, moving the sheets so Sam wouldn’t wake, and made her way, in the tee-shirt and shorts she had on, towards the bathroom.  

Slowly, she closed the door, watching the bodies on the bed as she latched it shut and finally turned on the light.  With her heart racing in her chest, she licked her lips and stared into the mirror. Her powers flowed as she made contact and she felt the world block out.  The boys were safe, she could feel that but they couldn’t feel her and as she stared, her own blue eyes began to glow.

“It’s been a while, my friend.” The voice in her head whispered, this time there was no outward speech, all the communication was internal with Hera.  Neither of them wanted the boys to know.

“I think I’ve finished the spell.”  Beth sighed and thought about the drawing on the table.  “It’s everything I remember, everything you showed me in the timeline.”  She could feel the spirit within her ease with relief. “I’m not coming back from this one, am I?”

“You’ll be surprised with what you can do with your soul mates beside you.”  Hera answered but that wasn’t a yes or a no, not in Beth’s book.

“It calls for a sacrifice, Hera,” she whispered, even in her mind, “it calls for me, the last of my kind.” She let the knowledge flow through her but her heart broke just as much.  “What do I tell them?”

“Nothing, for there is nothing that they can do.  Sacrifice does not always mean death. You must keep this to yourself. You are bonded now, to both, and they will fight for you until the end.”

“Whose end? Theirs or mine?  There’s three of us in this battle now,” she held her hand up to the mirror and the ring reflected back on her, “this is our love, our unbreakable bond and I won’t let them suffer because I decided that it was time to come back into their lives.”

“Trust in the fact that in the end you will not fail, Elizabeth, that your heritage, and that union will survive.”  Beth exhaled and stared into those glowing eyes.

“Sam won’t survive if I’m taken,” she shook her head as the silent tears fell.  “He’s strong but not strong enough to withstand another heartache like that. How are you going to protect him if this ends badly?  How can you promise that Sam will not try and take his own life should I fail?”

“Have faith, Child, your warriors are strong, do not underestimate the power you’ve given them, just have faith.”  

Beth watched the blue fade and she found herself staring into her own eyes, red rimmed and teary.  With determination, she wiped her face, gathered her nerve and moved out of the bathroom, shutting off the light before she went. At the end of the bed, she looked over the two sleeping men, the warmth of the silver ring on her finger began to spread and she pulled on her boots, her coat, grabbed the keys to the Impala and headed out the door.

The sun would rise soon, and there was no way she was going to be able to fall back to sleep again.

 

Beth shrugged off the black jacket as she walked into the hotel room.  The rain was coming down in sheets and her hair was soaked as she placed the brown paper bag full of groceries on the small table.  With a glance over at the beds, she could see that her absence wasn’t missed, as both men were still dead asleep. Sam tucked up with a pillow and Dean spread eagle across his mattress.

She hung the jacket on the wall, unclipped the knife from her belt and placed the Colt quietly on the counter while she dug through the bag to find the coffee grounds she had bought for the small percolator the hotel had supplied.  Creamer and sugar were in the bag but she needed to get it brewing first before she worried about that. 

She pulled the paper from the pile as she did her best to quietly open the box of packaged donuts, grabbing out a powdered one as the machine worked its magic and the room began to smell like a café.  She was three bites into the second page of the newspaper when she heard a groan from Sam’s bed as he moved his arms around the sheet looking for her. He stopped after a moment and pushed himself up to turn in her direction.

Beth smiled, coated in powder as he wondered just how she got from the bed and dressed to reading the paper without him noticing.  He sighed, rolled his eyes and went back to the comfortable pillow he had been holding. She never slept that long, and since she was still in the room he felt safe, so it was back to bed he went.

She gave a quick raise of her eyebrows as if to say “whatever” and went back to reading the article that had taken over page three.  The coffee was done, the machine finally stopped making noise, and she grabbed one of the sturdy cups she had purchased, all while folding the paper and continuing to read. She poured the cream and just the right amount of sugar into the cup before mixing in the coffee. She turned to see Dean, not more than two feet away, in a tee-shirt and his boxers, grinning like a crazy man while staring her down.  She took the closest item, the keys to the Impala and tossed them at him, which he ducked away from even in his half-awake state.

He made his way over, grunting being used as an acceptable substitute for excuse me is apparently a thing now, and made himself a coffee, stealing a donut as he stepped up beside her.  Beth rolled his eyes at his lack of personal space, kissing her cheek with a mouth full of food. She smiled as he decided it was the best time to start dirty dancing with her. Yes, with a full cup of coffee in hand.

“Go back to bed, the whiskey is still in your system,” she whispered, smiling and he shrugged before walking over to the other side of the table, biting down on the donut again.

Dean watched her as she scanned over the rest of the article before she opened the paper up and he caught the headlines.  She could hear him sigh, though he hadn’t spoken a word and flicked his finger on the paper, trying to get her attention.

Beth lowered it slowly, peeking at him with eyes that could pierce his soul before she set the paper down on the table.

“Have you forgotten how to speak English?”  She said quietly, and he shook his head, “did a demon rip out your tongue in the middle of the night?” Again, he shook his head and she rolled her eyes, “than use your damn words.”

“I’m trying not to wake up Sammy.” Dean grumbled.

“He’s already awake, he’s just lying there,” she smiled, “thinking.”

“I hate you!”  Sam mumbled into a pillow while taking the second one and flinging it at her from across the room.  Both Dean and Beth watched as it landed against the dresser.

“Check out the article on the front page,” Dean suggested and watched as she flipped the paper over.  Body found in driveway under strange conditions.

“Something must have happened last night after we left the mansion.”  Dean snatched the paper from her, his lips drawn tight, and he sat back so he could read it himself, but Beth stood and stuck her tongue out at him. “You’re such an ass first thing in the morning.” She started to walk towards the bed but could almost feel Dean’s eyes on her.  “I can hear what you’re thinking, Dean. Stop admiring my backside.”

“Next time walk away backwards, than I can admire the front,” he laughed as he mumbled under his breath and adjusted the paper.

Beth crawled up and found a spot next to Sam as he kept his eyes closed, but the smile began to spread across his lips.  With one eye, he peeked at her, reached his arms out and pulled her close, trying to tuck the sheet around her.

Sam pulled the sheet over her head and looked into her eyes as his legs snaked between hers, locking her in place, and his hand slowly glided up her back.

“You do know Dean is over at the table and this sheet isn’t going to keep him from seeing anything.” She laughed and felt his fingers rub gently across that one spot on her neck.  His smile just widened as her lips parted.

“I don’t care,” his whispered voice made the desire even harder to resist, but there was another man in the room and Beth gently slid his hand from her neck.

“Meet me in the bathroom,” she smiled.

“That is going to be my new favorite saying,” Sam smiled as he felt her hand traveling before she suddenly took it away, “you suck!”

Beth laughed, tossed the cover from herself and slid off the bed.  She winked at Sam, who watched her walk towards the bathroom, biting his lip. Sam wrapped the sheet around himself, hopped off the bed and glanced at his brother, who had rolled his eyes and was shaking his head as Sam closed the door.

As a rule, the television would go on and the volume would go up before Sam and Beth would start anything too rigorous but Sam wasn’t playing this morning.  As soon as the door closed, he picked Beth up to sit on the counter next to the sink. His kisses were full of passion as he removed the large flannel shirt she had on, his shirt actually and looked down at the white tee-shirt she wore underneath.

Sam reached up, his hands shaking with need and touched the four blood spots on her chest.  

Beth looked down and pulled at the fabric. “I must have cut myself.”

“It’s still wet,” he whispered as he glanced up at her.  All his cares concerning the blood disappeared when he looked into her eyes.  Beth smiled as she reached out and tangled her fingers into his hair, tugging him closer.  

 

Dean stood quickly as the emotions within him started to swirl.  Not that the TV helped at all but it gave him a distraction from the noise, not the feelings that Beth sent out.

“RULES!”  He shouted as he turned on the television and cranked the volume.

He could feel the tension grow and instead of going back to the table, he sat back on the bed to close his eyes.  He needed something as a distraction from the two of them, and thinking about the hunt the night before seemed to help, but the thoughts of a busty blond invaded his mind and he smiled, getting comfortable on the pillows.

 

Sam stepped out of the bathroom, smiling, and Dean watched him walk by, crash down on the bed with the sheet still wrapped around him.  The grin on the younger brother’s lips told Dean nothing he didn’t already knew and Dean just shook his head. 

“Dude, put some pants on!”  Dean grinned as Sam just sighed. 

The cellphone on the stand between them vibrated and Sam reached up, to grab it.  He turned it to show Dean Gene’s number that flashed on the screen and set it down once again before accepting and hitting the speaker.  Beth came out of the bathroom, holding the white tee with the flannel one half-buttoned as she scrubbed at the blood spot. 

Dean watched her as he leaned towards the phone.  “What’s up Gene?”

_ “Good morning guys, did you get to see the paper this morning?” _

Beth tried not to roll her eyes as she tossed the shirt back in the bathroom, raising up her arms in triumph as it disappeared into the tub.

“Beth just brought it in, but let me guess, the mansion?”  Sam questioned. Beth sat down at the end of Dean’s bed and slapped him on the thigh, giving him a wink.

Dean looked at her, eyes creased as he mouthed the word “ow” and she gave him a grin before raising her eyebrows.

_ “Dirty little pervert.” _  Beth’s mind tickled his as Dean turned bright red, which made her laugh more.  Dean nudged her to pay attention as Sam shook his head.

“That makes how many bodies?” Beth questioned.

_ “Six so far,” _ Gene answered.

“Including the one from last night?”  Sam asked.

_ “No,” _ Beth gave a questioning look,  _ “that makes seven.” _

“Same MO?”

_ “Same kind of monster.” _  Gene replied, which got Dean’s attention as he and Sam exchanged glances.

“What kind?”

_ “That’s what I’m not sure of,” _ Gene’s voice sounded as if he were looking through things to find the answers.

Beth stood up as a memory flashed through her head.  “It’s happened before,” she whispered and watched as both of them turned in her direction.

“Gene, we’ll call you back.”  Sam disconnected the call, pulled on his jeans and a shirt before he headed to the laptop and typed in previous murders in with the same methodology, hacking into the local police database as well as the national.  “She’s right, but not here, at least not all of them were here.”

Sam looked up at Beth questioning how she would have known, but Beth pulled out the book from Sam’s bag.

“Dad’s journal?”  Dean questioned and sat down on the bed as Beth turned to the pages closer to the front.

“Remember how you told me about Deacon, about how our fathers had helped him hunt something in Newark back in 92’?” She watched Sam turn in his chair and stare at her.  “Think about it. Something that acts like a shifter but is a doppelgänger at the same time?”

“They said they Deacon was pretty roughed up, that John had to sew him up, what the hell kind of creature could do that and still mimic both of these at the same time?”  Beth watched as the two of them shared a passing glance before waiting on her again. Beth grabbed the computer and tapped around different websites until she found something she was looking for, climbing back on the dresser to sit.  “Here we go, April 17, 1992, Newark, New Jersey Art Show. Crowds gathered to celebrate the little known artists and painters of the late 1880’s. Portraits from far and wide were collected by national historical societies to be shown off in one large gallery and little known local artists were at the center of it.  Of the paintings offered up for viewing of this event is the rarely seen portrait of Colonel William Dozer, a wealthy man of stature whose portrait hangs in the third-floor ballroom of the Dozer Mansion in Berwick, Pennsylvania. The third-floor of the mansion is currently off limits to tourists so viewing this rare gem is a treat for many spectators.”

“How do you know that Dozer’s painting connected the two events together?”  Sam watched as she checked the dates on the show and those in her father’s journals.  

“Easy enough, the issue began as soon as they brought the painting into the gallery and stopped the moment they brought it out.  Our fathers didn’t stop whatever was going on, they stopped what was chasing them and then boom, the portrait was gone, no more monsters.” Beth watched as they looked at one another.  “They never noticed it because there wasn’t any case going on in Berwick, nothing to connect one with the other.” 

“So when does this things start?”  Dean got up from the bed and grabbed his clothes.

“If you want to make it in and out, probably noon, but after that we’re going to have to be ready to run, or Gene’s going to have to turn off those camera.” Beth watched as he headed towards the bathroom and caught herself watching the sway of his boxers as he went before she closed her eyes and regrouped.  Sam’s chuckle had her snapping her eyes wide open as she turned to look at him. “I’m sorry.”

“I can just imagine the looks you give me,” Sam smiled and Beth’s face flushed a little as her lips turned up in a sly grin.

“Oh, they’re not just looks,” she admitted and Sam stood from the chair.  He made his way to where she sat, and with a gentle push on her thighs, Beth untangled her crossed legs and let him stand between her knees.  She bit her lip as he used his hand to pull her closer, pressed right against him and she stared up into those intense eyes.

“Oh, knock it off you two!”  Dean growled and Sam felt the shirt hit him on the side of the head.  “We’ve got work to do!”

Sam smiled, pulling the shirt off his shoulder as Dean walked by, and let it drop on the floor.  He was right, they had work to do but Sam’s mind was just on other things. Beth tried to hide the smile that snuck up on her and she put her hands on Sam’s hips.

“You heard the man,” she snapped to attention, and felt Sam’s hands cup her face, bringing her back to face him.  Whether it was to tease Dean or just because, the deep passion of the kiss against her mouth was almost too much for her to handle and she squeezed her fingers into the flesh at his waist, wanting nothing more than to hold him there as he moaned against her lips.

Dean turned from packing his bag at the sound of his brother and rolled his eyes, but the feelings and emotions hit him like a wall of fire, sending him instantly reeling in a direction he really didn’t want to go, and this time, he didn’t throw a shirt. 

A small bag of rock salt, tied tightly, slammed against Sam’s shoulder, breaking the kiss and the taller man turned to look at his brother, which got Dean to smile widely.

“Seriously?”  Sam questioned, slowly releasing the breathless woman who he still had pressed against him.

“Yes, seriously! You do realize that I’m standing in the room, and while you get to play kissy-face with our girl there, I’m the one left holding the ba…” Dean stopped and thought about the phrase for a moment.  “Just stop, okay! At least, give me about twenty yards before you start sticking your tongue in her mouth.”

Sam grinned at how flustered his brother was and backed away, letting Beth hop down from the dresser. He walked over to the bed, and began stuffing things into the bag while all Beth did was pull out her gun and stuff it in the back of her jeans, an action that Dean found himself watching intensely before being hit with the bag of salt himself.

 

Dean swung the Impala around before coming to a stop behind rows of cars and the two men in the front seat looked over the growing crowd.

“Gene said to use the back entrance, like we did yesterday.” Dean stated as he watched the flow of the people who head towards the mansion.

“I don’t know, it looks like a lot of trouble.” Beth spoke up as she scanned over the area.  

“I thought trouble was your middle name.”

“Only for you, Brat.”  She replied and slid out the back of the car, leaving the two of them sitting there as she slid into the stream of moving people.  

That was the plan, Beth was going in first, because the three of them walking in at the same time seemed to be an overkill.  She had her gun, this time the olive bullets were replaced by silver ones, but both of them worried that her one gun wouldn’t be enough.  

Sam grabbed the small duffel out of the back of the car as Dean kept watch and the two of them made their way down the street, passed dozens of people, which included children.

“Gene’s sure the painting is going to still be on the third floor?”  Sam questioned and Dean only gave a slight nod before they slipped by the white canopies that held vendors. 

“He said they weren’t moving it, or exposing it to the outside air because of the botched paint job from the last artist that touched it.”  Dean’s eyes moved over the men in uniform at that paced back and forth across the lawn. “He didn’t say anything about suits being present.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve made it passed them before.”

They rounded the corner, ducked into the slightly open door and Dean reached for the gun behind his back as a shadow stepped out of the darkened hallway.  Gene looked breathless as he raised his hands to the boys.

“We have a problem,” the larger man grumbled and Dean gave a small roll of his eyes.  When did they not run into some kind of problem? Sam stared down at him, waiting for him to continue.  “Beth got caught wandering the third floor.”

“That’s not like her,” Sam whispered.

“But, it’s not like we can’t work with it,” Dean replied, smiling up at him. “Beth distracting the guards gives us the open we need to get up there and finish it off.”

“Point taken,” Sam agreed and the three of them headed up towards the second floor. Gene was able to lead them through different doorways to the ballroom on the third floor before he closed and locked the entrance way.  “What are you doing that for?”

“To keep the guards out,” Gene replied, as if “duh” but Sam reached around and pulled his gun.  Something about the stout man was off, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Dean gave Gene a quick once over before setting his sights on Sam’s worried face.  Dean felt it too, there was just something not right here.

The three of them moved through the ballroom, Gene at their back as Sam turned the corner toward the end of the hallway where Dean had told him the painting was in.  Dean followed closely, ducking in and out of rooms before catching up with Sam. They stood on the other side of the fifth door, quickly peeked in and then at each other before simultaneously nodding and entering the room, Sam first.

It was like a maze, in and out of the plastic covered furniture, mannequins that held period clothing and other discarded things that used to take up space in the ballroom. Each went down a row, leaving Gene outside to guard the door, but as they approached the back, where the painting should have been, they heard a thump as a body hit the floor.  Sam and Dean exchanged concerned looks before Dean gestured that he was heading back. Sam turned back to the task at hand and moved further into the room.

As he rounded the last corner, closest to the windows, he caught sight of the painting, still sitting securely on the easel. As he looked it over, checking for anything out of the ordinary, he watched the eyes follow him.  Sam stepped back, and watched as the face on the painting moved, ever so subtly, following his direction as he side-stepped.

When the brows on the canvas turned down and the eyes squinted, Sam’s own opened up wide. Yeah, there was no way he was staying there.  With a quick turn to the right, he was out of the room, but where he thought he would meet Dean at the door, both men were suddenly gone.

“Dean!”  Sam tried to yell, but the walls echoed his voice.  That what when he saw the figure that crossed the hall into the ballroom.  His feet moved quickly, but silently across the thin runner that lined the floor and when his gun aimed and ready, he slowly maneuvered the corner to see Dean pressed up against the wall, a hand around his throat and someone who looked identical to him, holding him inches off the ground.  “Put him down!”

“Oh, come on Sammy,” the voice of the man with his back to Sam spoke up.  Sam blinked twice, his brother’s voice was coming from another direction. “You’re not going to shoot me.”

He watched as the Dean against the wall struggled to breathe, while the one who held him turned his head to face the younger brother.  He was looking at two identical people, but there was something just off about this one.

“Put down my brother!” Sam ordered and stepped closer, flicking off the safety as he moved. 

“This thing in my hand isn’t your brother,” the voice invaded Sam’s thoughts, screwed with his mind and he looked back and forth between them.  “He’s the doppelgänger.”

“He’s a shifter!” The one against the wall choked out, and Sam shook his head, unable to tell as they seemed to blend together.

“What’s the difference?”  They argued back and forth as Sam moved the gun, pointing from one to the other.

_ “Sam,”  _ this time the voice was in his head and he found himself focusing on the man against the wall.  His eyes connected with Dean’s as the light in them started to fade.  _ “Shoot the Son of a Bitch!” _

That familiar tingle, those thoughts that Dean pushed at him. The road trips, the songs, the car, meeting Beth, the nymph, and finally the ring.  He watched in his mind as Dean placed his fingers on the empty sides of the ring and helped him slip it down over Beth’s finger. Sam took in a deep breath, steadied his hand and pulled the trigger.

The silver bullet plunged deep into the heart of the man who held his brother and slowly he let go, falling to the ground with a recognizable thump and Dean slid down, trying to catch his breath.  Sam ran over pushing the body out of the way and placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder.

“I guess that little Jedi mind trick has a good use after all,” Dean grumbled out as he rubbed his throat.  

“Yeah, how about that,” Sam smiled and looked over at the body on the ground.  It wasn’t Dean anymore but the stout man that had locked them onto the third floor.  “Wait, if that’s Gene, than where’s Beth?”

Both of them reached out, waiting for that familiar tickle as their minds connected but it was the well placed scream that got their attention.  Sam grabbed Dean’s arm and pulled him to his feet, steading him for a moment before they both ran off back down the hallway.

Sam could hear Beth whispering to herself as he stopped by the door to the fifth room, but her voice wasn’t coming from inside it, it was coming from beside it. Sam stopped and pointed at the wall, the solid wall and they listened.  It wasn’t so much of whispering anymore but a song, a song that to Dean was way too familiar. The words to the old Led Zeppelin song were mumbled through the walls but the tune that she hummed was crisp.

Dean could feel her growing in strength, which kicked in his own anger, and he turned to Sam, both having the same idea at the same time.  With his eyes closed, Dean prayed that the woman on the other side understood their intentions as both of them used all of their strength and kicked out the panels that decorated the solid wall.

The wood splintered, giving way under the ferocity of the large boots that hit it, and both cleared away the rest of the debris but as they looked into the depths of the darkness, they found the space completely empty.  Still they could hear the sound of her voice.

“ALI!”  Dean yelled and listened to the song stop for only a second before it resumed once again.

 

She could hear Dean screaming from where she sat, her hands tied behind the wooden post as her eyes focused in and out.  The ropes burned against her skin as she turned her wrists, trying to get loose, but the feeling of heaviness made the task take longer than she hoped.  She could see him standing in the shadows, a man, about thirty-ish with curly hair, but he had put on weight and his clothing had become that of the modern age, not like his portrait.

“So you’re the shifter?”  She questioned, her voice barely a whisper as he stepped out and smiled at her.  Gene laughed as he moved closer, it was a menacing chuckle that almost made her fear for her life…almost.  “Pretty sweet setup you have here.”

“Yeah, but the body count was getting a little high, and it turns out there’s a price on your pretty little head.”  Gene shrugged as he pulled up a chair.

“Oh wait, is this the evil monologue that the heroes have to go through before they face certain death?”  Beth laughed and watched as he thought about her words for a moment before he just didn’t answer. “You do know that’s never how it ends, right?”

“I know one thing, the Winchesters are upstairs right now fighting for you and about to be fighting over you.”  He smiled.

“You don’t know my boys very well, do you?”  Beth relaxed her arms, there was no way out of those bonds without breaking a few fingers. 

“I know they both care about you, and every man has his breaking point when it comes to someone they love.”  

“Yeah, I guess we do,”  Beth closed her eyes, letting the fogginess take over as she hummed the melody of the one song she couldn’t get rid of, but her mind traveled and she found Dean and Sam on the edge of the empty hidden passage.  _ “He’s going to try to find a way to separate you, to make you fight each other using me.” _

_ “Beth?”  _ Sam’s voice whispered and she fought to hold her expression, not letting Gene onto the fact that they had a secret.  _ “Beth, where are you?” _

_ “Uh, I think it’s the basement, or the attic, some place dark and dusty.” _

_ “That doesn’t help much!”  _ Dean spoke up and she could feel them coming closer, using the passages.

_ “No! Wait, don’t come here, burn the painting.” _ She ordered, and felt them stop.  

_ “Sam’s going to come to you, I’ll take care of our Dorian Gray.”  _

Beth couldn’t help the small noise that escaped her mouth when Dean came back with that line.  She slowly opened her eyes, making another sound that mimicked it as if she were coming to once more and she came face to face with Gene who was less than two feet from her.

“You know for someone who is over one-seventy, you look awful good.”  She murmured, still going with the pain that was shooting through her head.  “How do you do it?”

“An old spell that I was able to purchase from a coven back in the day,” he smiled happily.

“You do know coven spells come with an awful big price,” Beth whispered as she looked around the area she was in.  It was when she noticed the bones that lined the walls. “Okay, I see that you’re fully aware of the situation.”

“I’m not a shifter, not the way that the Winchesters believe.  I’m immortal. My ashes keep my physical plane here on Earth so that when the body I am in wears out, all I have to do is find another suitable host.”  Gene smiled. “I’ve never been a woman before.”

“And it isn’t going to happen in this lifetime for you either, buddy, so don’t get your hopes up yet.”  Beth smiled and watched as he reached out to touch her but he snapped his hand back, shocked. “I tried to tell you.”

“I can feel the power on you.”  He whispered, as if completely baffled by her and Beth suddenly felt fear and knew she was in trouble.

“Listen, Pal, whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably not a good idea,” Beth backed her legs away as he closed the space between them. “Wait, are you a soul jumper?”

Gene sat back on his knees and looked at her, as if he hadn’t really thought of that way before, and he cocked his head at her.  “Soul jumper? Hmm, I guess you could say that.”

“What about the doppelgängers, the shifters?” She whispered, stalling so that hopefully Sam would show up soon.

“Helpers.”  Gene smiled and shrugged.  “It’s not easy trying to keep people away from the one thing that is keeping you alive.  By now one of your precious Winchesters is dead and the other might just be going out of his mind.”

“Sam,” she whispered, her thoughts traveling to the man on his way down to save her ass, but she didn’t get anything from him, no real worry.  She decided to play along, “wait, you mean Dean’s…” a tear formed in her eyes, “Dean’s dead?”

Gene’s grin widened, thoroughly convinced that Beth was about to be all alone in the world.

 

Sam made his way through the walls, his footsteps landing as softly as possible on the old wooden floorboards.  Whatever the passageway was used for in the past, it hadn’t been used that way for a very long time. It was then that he saw the rails and could only think of one thing, coal or wood for the upstairs fireplaces, since he was slowly going down in a spiral.  

He reached out for Beth, finding her a little on the groggy side but still conscious and Dean was still on the third floor.  He pulled the gun, as he heard the voices coming closer, as Beth started to hum that damned song once again.

 

Dean heard it from the opening, the last notes of the guitar solo from that old tune and he stepped away, headed for the room, Sam’s bag slung over his shoulder.  As long as Beth kept him talking, Gene, or Dozer, whatever the hell he was, seemed too occupied to care what the older one was up too. 

Slowly, Dean crept into the doorway, moving towards the back of the room where the painting was hidden.  He grabbed a sheet of the plastic and slowly pulled it off from one of the pieces of furniture that littered the floor before turning the corner.  With a quick swing, he covered the painting, never showing it his face.

 

Beth looked up as Gene’s eyes became very angry and he stood from the spot where he rested on the floor.  He stared down at her, the fury in his face as his eyes began to glow a deep red. This was the first time Beth had been witness to this type of magic but she knew it, recognized its power and knew she had to get out of there.  There was no time to wait for Sam. 

Beth grabbed ahold of her left thumb with her right hand and with as much force as she could muster, yanked it from its socket.  She wanted to scream in pain, to pass out from it, but she continued to breathe as she used it to her advantage. With the knuckle manipulated, she let the rope slide over her finger and found that left hand free.  Quickly, she stood and watched as Gene started chanting in Latin. This should be pretty easy, Latin she got, Greek, not so much.

Sam felt the pain the back of his head before he was able to turn around and it forced him to tumble down the small incline of the passageway.  He turned and looked up at himself, with a large blade, and a wide terrify smile on his face. Sam raised his gun and fired off three rounds, which passed right through the person above him.

“Okay, not shifter,” Sam said softly but when he raised his arm to block the knife, he felt the blade slice through his arm.  “And not just in my head.”

He beat it off, hitting the look-a-like with everything he had as he tried to keep his balance from the downhill spiral.  This thing wouldn’t take no for an answer, but there was something that he remembered from the journals, something that he hadn’t even thought of before.  If it wasn’t a shifter, than there was only one way to fight it.

“Beth!”  He yelled, and listened for her voice in his head.  “Psalm sixty-eight!” He felt her connect and heard that she was already on top of it, he waited for her to begin again before he jumped in and looked at the distorted image of himself. “Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino, qui fertis ascendit super caelum, caeli ad Orientem, Ecce dabit voci suae vocem virtutis, tribuite virtutem deo.”

Repeating the exorcism over and adding his own voice to the power, he found the image start to fade and he turned quickly, still speaking and ran down the rest of the way, bursting through the boarded up wall that separated the house from the other part of the basement.  Sam raised the gun, as Beth faced the man in front of her, her eyes looking empty again as she held her arms out, palms up and their voices matched with each word.

 

Dean smiled as he listened to the words that echoed through the house.  Quickly he moved the painting from the easel to the floor, flipped the plastic off from it and dumped the bag full of salt that Sam had packed in the bag over the canvas.  He added his own voice to the words that echoed through him, that vibrated through the house and as he sprayed the lighter fluid on the painting, he gave it just a bit of a nasty grin.

“Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino, qui fertis ascendit super caelum, caeli ad Orientem, Ecce dabit voci suae vocem virtutis, tribuite virtutem deo.” The combined voice of the three echoed form him as he looked up at the Shadow figure that stood in the doorway.  Just as it moved towards him at lightning speed, Dean flicked the lighter open and the corner of his lip curled up. “Burn, bitch!”

With that he dropped the gold zippo and ignited the flames that quickly spread over the tapestry.  That was when the gunshot echoed throughout the building and Dean quickly made a run for the hole in the wall.  He followed it down, around every bend and came to a screeching halt as he caught the broken wood before nearly falling over the small pile of debris that littered the floor, just behind Sam, whose shoulders heaved, trying to catch his breath.  Dean caught himself, steadied his feet and stepped up to his brother. 

Beth was crouched over the body on the floor, and Dean’s first thought was to panic because of the blood that pooled there but she looked up, tossing her hair out of her face.  Her left hand was swollen and bruised and her thumb went a way that it shouldn’t as she held it close to her body, but the blood wasn’t hers, it was Gene’s, as the hole in his forehead bubbled with the crimson liquid.

“We need to go!”  Dean said sternly and realized that he had left the bag up in the room with the painting.  Nothing to worry about, since there was only a few bags of rock salt, some lighter fluid and a box of matches. 

They found their way out of the house, and stepped back into the crowd as they watched people scramble to put the fire out.  Sirens were approaching, and they headed back towards the car as the onlookers cleared the way for the fire trucks. Dean had one arm wrapped around Beth, who stumbled as she ran and Sam grabbed the keys, moving ahead to unlock the car.

They helped her into the backseat, Dean pulling her against him, as Sam started the engine and tried to make it look as if they were moving out of the way for the number of trucks and cruisers that were headed towards the mansion.

 

In the hotel room, Dean propped Beth up in one of the chairs that sat against the wall.  Sam checked her eyes as she followed the light, but the blurred vision and headache could only mean one thing.

“Ugh, I think I have a concussion,” her words were slurred as she felt Dean take her left hand in his.

“What made you come up with that, Sherlock?”  He said roughly but she smiled.

“Could you keep it down, someone’s playing drums in my ears.”  Dean looked up at Sam, who walked over and braced her arm as Dean took her thumb in his.

“This is going to hurt, Kid, but you’ll thank me later,” Dean whispered and gave the thumb a good yank, maneuvering it back into place.  Beth screamed as she gripped his shoulder with her free hand and put her head back against the wall. Dean looked up as Sam released her and cupped her face in his hands.

“Beth?”  That one word was filled with pain, anger and concern all rolled into one but the woman never heard any of it.  She was out cold. “She can’t sleep with a concussion, we have to wake her up.”

Sam picked her up from the chair and laid her on the bed, patting her gently on the cheek as Dean went to the other side and held her hand gently.  

“Sam, I have an idea,” Dean whispered and ran his hand over Beth’s head, pushing her hair back.  “She healed herself at the house, when she gashed her hand, we need to give her that so she can heal now, we have to push it at her.”

Both men placed their hands on her forehead and each took a hand.  Sam swallowed hard, his mouth slightly open in a fear that Dean’s plan wouldn’t work, but Dean’s stubborn eyes held his brother’s with a fierceness that only meant one thing.  He wasn’t giving up, not on her and not on his brother so Sam took a deep breath and concentrated, his eyes turning from Dean’s to her face. Dean closed his eyes, praying inside as he felt the warmth under his hands and his lids sprung open to see the light that surrounded her.

“Come on, Beth, come on!”  He whispered as the light slowly faded, the warmth ran from his hands and he looked up at Sam, whose eyes looked defeated.

“Whose freaking idea was it to go on a road trip again?”  Her voice whispered as she moved beneath them. “Oh yeah, mine…remind me to beat me when we get home.” Dean and Sam could barely contain their smiles as Dean leaned down and kissed her forehead before making room for Sam who gently pressed his lips against hers as she released his hand and caressed his cheek.  With a sigh, Beth looked around the room. “So, where are we going next?”

“The basement,” Dean whispered and ran a hand over her face.  “So I can lock you up like I promised I would.”

“Please don’t say basement, anything but that word.”  She groaned and watched him smile.

“How does an exorcism work on a shifter?”  Sam whispered as he knelt down beside the bed.

“He was a soul jumper,” Beth whispered.  “Another form of a demon, but I don’t get how he made that kind of deal with that long of a contract life.”

“A soul jumper?”  Dean said shaking his head, “I thought they were myths.”

“Ha, so were the Men of Letters and look at you two,” she smiled.  “I want tacos.”

Dean shook his head as Sam burst out laughing.  Yep, Beth was going to be just fine and they would soon be off on their next hunt, as soon as they had tacos for dinner.

  
  
  



	18. Shot Spotted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You would think a simple ride though the country would be quiet, but, you'd be wrong, at least in Beth's eyes. Oh, and pass on the pie.

Shot Spotted

SPN FanFic #18

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

Woodland, New Jersey

 

Beth sat up straight in the backseat as they pulled up to the all-night diner and she gave a low moan, one that had Sam spinning in his seat to look at her.  Her earbuds were in but she was talking to Becca on the Bluetooth.

“What?”  Her eyes glazed over the wanting look in Sam’s eyes. “I’m hungry.”

“Hungry for something,” Dean laughed as he winked and watched her raise her hand to swipe the back of his head.  Dean leaned forward as her fingers just missed the close cropped hair.

“Becca, Dean’s being an ass!”  Beth whispered as she sat back in the seat.  

_ “And, that’s different than every other day how?” _ Becca’s voice boomed through the ear pieces.  _ “So, on with the story since the three of you decided that a hunting road trip would be the “bestest idea in the whole wide world”!”  _  Beth smiled at her sarcasm.  _ “Woodland, New Jersey, home of “Not a Damned Thing”.  I swear you picked the most vanilla place in the world to check in on.” _

“Get on with it, Marshall,” Beth laughed as Dean pulled into the parking spot and Beth shut the Bluetooth off, placing the phone on speaker.

_ “Over the last two weeks there have been four deaths recorded by the local police department.  Two were suspected to be animal related, the other two were suspicious activity, but not suspicious enough to warrant looking into them further than just a quick investigation and ruling it a murder/suicide.”   _ Becca paused, waiting for Beth to come back with something but the boys just watched as Beth turned in the seat and looked out the back window.  _ “Are you even listening, Peterson?” _

“Yeah, you’ve got my attention,” Beth whispered, but continued to stare.  Sam, curious as to what was going on, turned further in his seat and ducked down to look at what Beth was so interested in, but there was nothing but rolling hills and woods behind them. “How about the first two?”

_ “Like I said, animal attacks,” _ Becca replied and waited.   _ “Oh, crap, you have one of those feelings again, don’t you?” _

“Did they say what kind of animal are around the area?”  Dean questioned, knowing just what Beth was thinking.

_ “Um, black bears, coyotes, the occasional fox…”  _ Becca stopped reading and Sam and Dean exchanged a wondering look.  _ “Hmm, this is interesting.” _

“Everything is interesting to you, Bec.” Beth smiled, still staring out the back window.

_ “Bite me, Peterson,” _ the woman replied.

“Been hanging around Dean much?”  Beth laughed.

_ “Okay, shut up and listen,”  _ the demand in her voice caught Beth off guard and she turned in the seat to stare at the phone.  _ “Officials, while uncertain at the type of animal involved have ruled out black bears and other indigenous wildlife as the culprit in these deaths and have suggested that hikers, campers and tourists refrain from traveling in this section of the Garret Mountain Reservation trails.” _

“I wonder if that’s all that’s back there,” Beth whispered and turned in her seat again.  “Okay, this is what I need you to do, if you’re not too busy with your angel and Momma Winchester.”

_ “I heard that, Elizabeth!”  _ Mary spoke up in the background and Sam smiled at his brother.

“She totally just brought out her mom voice.”  Dean laughed and smiled at Beth, who just rolled her eyes.

_ “What is it this time?”  _ Becca laughed and Beth could almost see her and Mary making faces at the phone.

“There’s something in this area, I can feel it.” This caught the boys’ attention and their smiles instantly faded.  “Listen, hack the National Wildlife website and see if you can track down a list of everything spotted in this area, they bag and tag a lot of things that roam this place, releasing them with a tracker once the sedation has worn off, there has to be something in the area that they missed, or something that doesn’t belong.”

_ “What exactly are you thinking, Beth?”  _ Becca questioned and Sam watched her bring the phone closer to her mouth.

“I need some pancakes and bacon,” she shrugged and watched Dean smile, and Sam give her a little shake of his head.  She took a deep breath and popped the headphones back in as the boys got out of the car. “Hey Bec, how’s Cas?”

_ “You wait for the boys to leave before you ask that?” _ She questioned and Beth watched as Sam and Dean stood outside waiting for her, but she didn’t answer.   _ “I think the poor guy is going stir-crazy.  He’s been watching the barrier every day, like a soldier, I’m not sure what to do with him.” _

“I need a favor from him,” she whispered and watched Sam turn as she blocked the boys from her thoughts. “Take the phone off speaker and give it to him, please.”  She waited a few moments and then smiled as she heard Cas fumble with the small device. “Hey Castiel.”

_ “Beth, it’s good to hear your voice.” _ She could almost see the smile on his lips as he stepped away from the other voices in the room.   _ “How’s Dean?” _

“Impatient for breakfast,” she replied and smiled at his concern for his friend.  “I need you to do something but only if you think it’s safe to leave the house.”

_ “The wards are holding and there hadn’t been any activity since you left,” _ he answered, which gave her a roundabout reply.  

“Okay, perfect.”  Beth sighed and let her head lower, her hair covering the movement of her mouth as Sam continued to look in.  “Remember the picture I sent to your phone yesterday?”

_ “Of course, the rendering you made of the page from the Book of the Damned,” _ he stated.

“In the upper left-hand corner is a symbol, not one I recognize, not anything familiar to me, or any book that I’ve ever seen.  I need you to find out what it means, and as fast as you possibly can.” She raised her head and stared at the man with the blue-green eyes.  “I need you to do it quietly, no one else needs to know.” She listened for his reply but only got silence, which she took as a cue to continue.  “And, Cas, I need you to be safe and aware of your surroundings at all times.”

_ “That much I can do, but I can’t promise I will be able to solve what you need.” _ She loved that he was so straight forward with her.

“Do your best, Cas.”  With that she opened the door to the car, “hug Becca for me.”

_ “Of course, and Beth, if you need me, just call.” _  She knew what kind of calling he meant and after a moment of silence, she drew in a deep breath and nodded.

“You know I will.” Sam watched as with those words, she disconnected the call.  Her eyes turned back to the hills as she tossed the headset on the rear deck of the car before slipping the phone into her pocket.  Sam looked over the grimness of her face as she took his outstretched hand. “Okay, pancakes!”

Dean smiled as he placed his arm around her shoulders and the three of them walked in just that way, one holding her hand, one holding onto her protectively. The waitress wasn’t sure what to make of the scene but she was gracious enough to show them to a seat and Beth slid in next to Sam, as Dean sat across from them.  The beautiful brunette handed them menus and Beth didn’t even bother to look as Dean and Sam took their times looking over what was offered.

Beth ordered just what she wanted, pancakes and bacon with a Coke to drink.  Sam had coffee and Dean, well, Dean just ordered everything that looked good. When she delivers the food, Beth watched the way she smiled down at Dean and he winked back, getting a smile from Beth but an annoyed roll of Sam’s eyes.

“Hey,” Beth whispered as she leaned closer to the woman, and the waitress bent over, which caught Dean’s attention.  “Do you know the people who died up on the trails?”

“Yeah, a few tourists that came out to get away from the city. “ She replied and Beth watched Dean tilt his head a little to the side, while taking a bite of the sausage on his plate.  

“How long ago was that?”  

The waitress shrugged, “three days maybe, I don’t go up there much, the place gives me the creeps.” She stood up, which brought Dean back to his plate and Beth smiled.  “You shouldn’t go up there either, whatever is in those woods is not an animal.”

“Yeah,” Beth smiled and watched her back away, winking at Dean.  “Thanks.”

“No problem, enjoy your breakfast.”  

“Hey,” Beth smiled and looked down at her chest, at the gold linked chain that hung down, and Dean followed her eyes, his own going wide as Beth reached out, cupping the amulet in her hand, “this is beautiful, do you have a place around here that sells them?”

Sally, which is what her name tag said, stood, a bit surprised by Beth’s forwardness and shook her head. “No place in town, it’s pretty one of a kind.  It’s been in my family for generations.”

“It’s beautiful,” Beth smiled, which got a return one from Sally, who slowly walked away, winking at the man on the other side of the table, getting a quick look from Dean.

“Yeah,” Dean laughed mimicking Beth, “thanks.”

“Can you two be serious for one minute?”  Sam questioned and looked at the two innocent faces that shared the table with him.  “She said something up there wasn’t an animal.”

“How would she know?” Beth questioned and buttered the pancakes before pouring the syrup on them. 

“Townie?”  Dean inquired and shrugged as a second sausage link was stabbed by the fork.

Beth watched the waitress with uncertainty and Dean watched the woman across from him lick her lips.  It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but the wandering stare and the way she did it just sparked something in him, something larger than what the view of “Sally’s” rear in a dress did, and Sam kicked him under the table.  Dean looked up at his brother, shook himself out of the train of thought and went back to eating his breakfast as Sam put his arm on the back of the seat, his fingers caressing Beth’s shoulder, the furthest from him.

“You need to eat Beth,” he whispered into her ear and watched as she pulled her eyes away from the woman who made her way from table to table.  Beth turned in his direction, feeling how close he was and she nodded. “I don’t know what you’re caught up in but you have to let it go and eat something.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, and blinked as she looked down at the plate.  “I just can’t get rid of this feeling.”

“I know, I can feel it coming off from you,” his breath was so close to her ear it made her eyelids droop and she looked at Dean from under her lashes.  

Dean kicked Sam under the table and sighed.  Whatever was going on certainly was affecting all of them, and Sam slipped further away.  He hadn’t realized that he had gotten that closed to her, but Sam ran a hand through his hair and cupped the mug, something else to hold onto besides Beth. He watched as she started to down her food, which made him smile. 

Just like Dean, she ate like someone was about to steal it from her and it made him think of all the times that she had been alone.  How much had been taken from her, what did she do to survive? He watched as Dean finished his plate and pushed it aside as he sat back on the bench chair and cocked his head just a bit to watch the woman across from him, his eyes drifting from Beth to Sam with probably the same expression on his face.

The pancakes were gone in an instant, the bacon not far behind but it was the soda that she took her time with as her gaze moved back to the odd interactions between the waitress and the patrons.

“Either of you notice anything strange about that woman?”  She questioned and watched Dean smile.

“Besides the fact that you ask the weirdest questions?”  Dean laughed and Sam scooted closer to see if he could pick up on what she was looking at.

“I think you’re projecting,” Sam whispered and Beth turned towards him, her brows creased with a definite question.  “Think about it, the hills behind the car, the waitress, questioning Becca about the weird crap that’s going on here?  I think you’re looking for a case.”

“No,” she whispered and looked past him at the hills.  “I think I found one.” 

Beth slipped off the bench before Sam could grab her and the two of them watched as she left the building, the bell on the door ringing as she raced out to catch the black SUV that had stopped to look both ways before pulling out.  Dean watched as she flashed a badge, which for her was probably Wildlife, since she wasn’t big on the FBI ones that the boys used, and started up a conversation with the man in the car. 

Sam’s worry floated to the surface, expressed in his eyes as she stood straight and he pulled the car to the side, moving out of the way for the others leaving the lot.  Both men were ready to move as a tall, thin man in a light blue uniform shirt with dark navy pants stepped out of the car and Beth handed him her badge.

 

She smiled at him, just a casual smile as he looked over the blue jeans, dark boots, casual shirt and black Dickies coat that she wore before handing back her badge.

“No dress code for Wildlife?”  Sergeant Weller, at least that was what it said on his tag, questioned.

“We’re the ones that go chasing after bears, Sergeant, dress blues isn’t our style,” Beth grinned and watched him place his thumbs into the gun belt on his hip.

“Are you carrying?” Beth lifted her coat and turned, which she smiled at when she turned back and caught the small sly grin on his face.

“Only in the car, unless you have a coyote problem here in town, there’s no need for me to be armed.”  Beth was very glad she had left her gun tucked under the blanket in the Impala before heading into the diner.  

“So, Wildlife sent you here for a few animal attacks?”  Weller questioned.

“Coroner’s report said it was an unspecified animal,” Beth watched as he slipped off the sunglasses and looked around. “My guess would be unspecified means you have no clue in hell as to what you’re dealing with, so yeah, they sent me up here to check it out.”

“Well, the bodies are gone, but I can get you the autopsy notes and photographs if you need to see them.”  He nodded to the people driving by and watched as Beth slipped her badge in the back pocket of her jeans. 

“Just the photographs of the body and the immediate area.” She watched as his face turned to a frown.  “You do have crime scene photos, don’t you?”

“No,” he almost whispered his answer, which made Beth a little weary of him.  “There seemed to be no need since it was an obvious animal, but I can take you up there.” Beth watched the look on his face, something about it wasn’t right, but she gave him a quick nod.  

“I have a few more coming into town in two hours,”  Beth answered, which made the look change in the man’s eyes and she glanced over at a small pick-up, giving him the sense that she was driving that and not the Impala.  “Some slick shots, they’re good for tagging bears, not much in the way of hunters, you know?” This seemed to ease the growing concern in the officer. “Listen,” she grabbed a card from the front pocket of her coat, “this is my cell number, if you can get those photos and bring them with you, let me know.  It would help to see what we’re dealing with before going up in the woods.”

“I can do that,” Weller replied, taking the car and he gave her a slight nod before getting back in the SUV.  

Without another word, he slipped on the glasses, started the vehicle and took off out onto the road.  It was about that time that Sam and Dean made their way from the Diner to the Impala and watched as she walked up, her lips pursed as if she were thinking about something but she shook her head and smiled at them.

“We have two hours to come up with a tranq gun.”  She grinned and watched as the two of them looked at each other before getting into the car. Beth slipped into the backseat where she retrieved the headset. “And a pickup truck.”

Sam turned in her direction while Dean looked at her confused through the rearview but Beth just pushed play on her phone and the music drowned them out.

 

The Baker’s Field Motel was just like any other place they had stayed, but not quite as dark.  The walls were a bright color, the flooring rough but manageable and while the bathroom could use some retiling, the view of the reservation was exactly what Beth wanted.  Sam and Dean both watched as she stared out the window, never unpacking, which was a staple in her usual routine. She just stood there with her arms crossed.

Sam stood behind her, never making a sound and looked up at the forest.  He had to wonder just what she saw but even her mind was too busy to follow.  Dean’s eyes snapped up in her direction as she started to hum and Sam placed a hand on her shoulder.  

“If we’re going to find you a pickup before your cop friend shows up, we need to get a move on.”  Dean scolded from the other side of the room. Beth turned, finally breaking the spell of the hills and sighed. Glad to have her attention, he placed his folded shirt on the bed and stepped up towards her, trying not to make her feel boxed in.  “So what’s our cover?”

“You two are my trackers,” she smiled and watched Dean’s eyes go directly to Sam.  “Oh come on, you have to play something besides Feds once in a while, that gets boring, doesn’t it? Unless you like wearing the monkey suits.”

“I happen to like my blue tie,” Dean mocked and went back to his clothes, “And, who is going to believe that we’re Wildlife anyway.”

“You can track, can’t you?”  She teased. Sam sat down in the chair behind her and pulled her down to his lap.  “I mean big, badass Dean, you must be able to find animal tracks.”

“I can find anything you put out there, Peterson, I just don’t get why?” He questioned and sat down on the bed, watching Sam’s arms snake around her waist.

“Easy enough,” she gave a little shrug, “the dumbasses didn’t take crime scene photos.  We need to get enough of a trail to follow said beastie into the woods and find its hiding spot, if it has one.”

“And if it doesn’t?”  Sam questioned from behind, his forehead resting on her back.

“Then it’s not an animal,” Dean answered for her, suddenly getting her plan as the corner of her lips turned upwards in a small smile. “Alright, I see where you’re coming from but why connect the two sets of crimes.”

“In a town this small, what exactly would compel a man to off his wife and then himself less than a week after two “tourists” were found mutilated in the woods?”  Beth questioned, and watched as Dean stared at her, his wheels turning as he nodded. 

“You think it’s something Greek?” He questioned.

“I think, Greek or not, it’s our kind of case.” She watched him nod as she turned and kissed Sam quickly before slipping out of his arms and over to the dresser.  Both boys exchanged looks as Beth unpacked her bag, putting Paul’s journal up on the dark cherry top before she continued with the weapons. “Where the hell are we going to find a pickup in the middle of the day?”

“That one’s on you, Kid.”  Dean laughed as he walked by, giving her a tap on the rear.  “But, I think I know a place.”

Sam stood as Dean disappeared out the door, the keys to the Impala still sitting on the table and his eyes gave a questioning look before he turned to Beth.  

“You’ve been blocking me out all day, Beth, what’s going on?” Sam asked as he stood and walked towards her, but Beth didn’t look up from her work, she only shrugged.  “Is there something going on that I need to know about?”

“There’s always something going on, Sam,” she answered and looked up at him.  “I can’t get passed this feeling that something here isn’t right.”

“Something…here? Like between us?”

“No, in this town,” she turned to him, placing her hand on his chest as she smiled.  “What’s between us has never felt more alive, and I‘m sorry if I’m distant but this feeling, this instinct.  I’ve felt it before.”

“Why not just tell us that?”  Sam watched the worry fill her eyes and she glanced out the window.

“Because it feels like Crowley.”  She answered and watched as he clenched his teeth, his jaw squaring.  “And that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“But it’s not him?”  Beth slowly shook her head, wanting to step back but Sam held her tightly in place, showing her that no matter what she thought, he wasn’t letting her go, she wasn’t in this alone.  “Okay, so what else have you run into that would make you feel…him?”

“Not him, but his type of evil,” she whispered as Sam’s thumb gently stroked her cheek.  “Crowley has a certain feel about him, I don’t think the two of you have ever noticed but it comes off from him in waves.  This place, it has those waves, that feeling, and those hills, that forest, it’s at the center of it.” She drew in a deep breath, “there has got to be something in there that is causing it.”

“Okay, so we research,” Sam suggested, “what can make those types of things happen? Better yet, what could make something, anything, maul two people to death and set someone off enough to shoot one person and then themselves?”

Beth looked up, she was always amazed by him and this time was no different as she reached up, grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss, once that was supposed to be innocent but flared with a fire that had Dean marching in and then turning around to head back out.

“Let me know when the two of you are finished.”  He laughed as he waved the keys in the air before shutting the door.

Sam picked her up as she wrapped her legs around her waist and suddenly found herself laying on the bed, his hair falling into her face as his eyes held her in his grip.  His stare was intense and she could help but smile as his hands maneuvered past her shirt. This was going to be one of those wild rides.

 

Dean sat back in the front seat of the Impala.  He had driven it down the road and parked by an open field and his view was the hills that had Beth so hyped up.  He could still feel them, but at least the distance gave it a little less of an edge. Every emotion that flowed from Beth was jacked up since he helped place that ring on her finger and while most times he loved it, this was the one time he didn’t.  He had no out, no way to release what she let off, and then he remembered the waitress at the diner, Sally, and he wondered what time her shift ended.

He started the engine, listened to the rumble, and turned towards the diner.  His green eyes scanned the parking lot, looking for anything out of the ordinary and slowly he got out.  He could feel something in the air, something other than Beth, and it made him a little more cautious as he entered.  Standing at the counter he smiled as Sally walked closer.

_ “Dean,” _ Beth’s mind invaded his and he winced at the power behind it, like she had broken through something.  _ “Don’t!” _

“Hi, didn’t think you would be back so soon,” Sally said, a smile on her face, but Dean seemed to see past it this time.

“Yeah, ah, I was wondering if I could have a cup of coffee to go, and maybe a slice of the pecan pie.”  Dean grinned. It apparently wasn’t what Sally had anticipated for a conversation and the smile faded from her face as she turned to get his order.  _ “Thanks for the C-block, Elizabeth!”  _ He snapped back at her, but he knew there was only one reason she would ever stop him.  _ “What is it?” _

 

Beth pulled the shirt on over her head as Sam walked to the bathroom.  He turned and watched the worry that clouded her eyes, knowing that it wasn’t for him but the brother that wasn’t in the room.  He stopped for a second as her eyes caught his. Dean hadn’t interrupted, there was something else that had made Sam himself give pause to their little bit of fun but to see that look in her eyes made him wonder, and he stepped into the bathroom

 

_ “Something is going on,” _ Beth replied and Dean did his best to smile, paying for the food before he ducked out of the diner and climbed quickly into the car.

“Did I interrupt?” He questioned, more out of curiosity.

_ “No, Sam did.” _ This got his attention pretty quick and he headed back towards the hotel.  

When Dean walked through the door, he looked from one to the other as Beth sat on the dresser and Sam sat across from her on the bed, both looking a little off.

“What the hell happened?”  Dean questioned and stared at Sam, like it was wrong of him to stop whatever it was he was doing with Beth.

“It’s hard to explain,” Sam whispered, pretty tight lipped.

“Try,” Dean snapped which made Beth sigh and reach for him.  Dean took her hand but held it very gently as Sam fought to find the words but how do you explain that to your older brother.  Dean shook his head, very adept at oversharing. “Okay, I’ll start…you were going at it, pretty hot and heavy, had her half undressed…”

“Dean!”  Beth groaned slapping his arm.

“It felt like someone was watching us,” Sam interrupted.

“Well I wasn’t, in fact I was working on getting myself square when Little Miss That-One’s-Wrong shouted in my head!” Dean turned and looked at Beth, who gave his best, “how was I supposed to know” shrug. 

“It wasn’t you watching,” Sam rolled his eyes, “look, I know what you feel like in my head, Dean, I’m telling you this was something outside the three of us.”

“So some other power was watching you get it on?”  Dean stopped and thought about it for a second, “these bastards are pretty kinky.”

“Not funny, Dean!”  Beth whispered and took a deep breath. 

“Yeah,” Sam said, the annoyance in his voice was pretty obvious as the smile disappeared from his face. “Anyway, I told Beth because I had to stop.”

“And you let him?”  Dean turned to her, this time she slapped him twice. “Ow, you are a brut!”

“I told you something was off in this town, and now I know it.”  She looked down at the phone as it vibrated beside her and shook her head.  “Officer Andy is calling. Do we have a truck?”

“Yep, and a tranq.” Dean grinned as if it was the biggest accomplishment of the day.

“Good, let’s get out of here and find out just what the hell is going on in this hole in the wall.” Beth jumped down from the dresser, grabbed the phone and pressed accept.  “Peterson!”

_ “I’ve got the pictures you asked for, they aren’t much to go on,”  _ Weller stated.  Beth gave the boys a thumbs up and grabbed her coat, taking the keys that Dean handed to her and they followed her out the door, ready-made bags in hand.   _ “If you follow Reservation Road up about two miles, you’ll hit a ranger’s station there, that’s where I’ll be.” _

“Alright, we’ll meet you there.”  Beth hung up the phone and turned to look at the boys who had swung the Impala around.  “Two miles up Reservation Road.” She paused for a moment, and locked eyes on Sam. “Don’t play the heroes, there’s something going on and I have no clue as to what it might be, so keep your heads down and play trackers, not hunters.”

“Yes, Ma'am.”  Sam winked and watched as she took off in the truck.

Sam turned to Dean, who just smiled and headed out after her.  

 

Reservation Road wasn’t far from the hotel.  Sam noticed it wasn’t far from the diner either.  “Hey did Beth happen to mention where the couple died?”

“Not that I remember,” Dean watched the truck ahead of him but peeked over at his brother, “you got something on your mind, Sammy?”

“The animal attack, the diner, the motel, they are all within a two mile span of the town, how much do you want to bet the couple who died isn’t all that far away from here either?”  Dean nodded as he thought about what his brother just said. 

“Someone is playing with some heavy magic and we’re about to hit the dead center of it.”  Dean replied watching as Sam smiled. “She knows something.”

“Beth?  Of course she knows something, she’s been saying it since we set foot into town.”  Sam tapped his fingers against the outside of the car, and watched the field on his side pass-by, “the question isn’t what does she know, it’s what doesn’t she…”

“You think the Olympians are involved?”  

“Doesn’t it feel that way?”  Sam watched as Dean just gave him a look of frustration.  “Whenever we run into something that involves them, her spidey sense just starts tingling.”

“She didn’t get it from Berwick,” Dean stopped for a moment and rolled his eyes.  “A soul jumper is a demon, not an Olympian.”

“Exactly, so what is Hera trying to tell her about this one?”

“Shut the hell up and listen?” 

“Right,” Sam raised his eyebrows, “but she’s not.”  Sam turned suddenly in his seat and stared at Dean. “What if she’s not listening?  What if there is a message in the madness of this small town that is meant for her but she’s so caught up in the mystery that she’s missing what’s underneath?”

“I don’t know, Sammy, the only time she’s not trying to figure out something is when she’s humming that damned song.”  Dean paused for a second and glanced over at his brother, who smiled back at him. “That song, her dad used to play it when we were small, all the time, like he was using it to cover up something.  I remember he would come out to the garage and put it on the radio. I thought it was just because she hummed it all the time, but what if it wasn’t because she liked it…”

“But because he didn’t want her to hear his conversation.”  Sam ended his sentence and watched the truck pull off next to the black and white SUV.  “We have to get her out of here.”

“She’s not going to leave until this case is solved, you know that.”  Dean stated as he got out and closed the door behind him. Sam grabbed the bag, watching as Weller and Beth stood between the trucks.  

“Then we better figure this thing out and fast.”  Sam watched as Dean slung the tranquilizer gun over his shoulder and the two of them headed towards the pair.

“Sergeant Weller, my associates, Dean Neal and Sam Cosmo.”  Beth introduced and watched as Dean gave her a strange look, which Beth shrugged off.  The man in uniform looked them over and then shook their hands as Beth looked over the prints in her hands.  “So two people, mauled by something with pretty large claws and no appetite were found no less than an eighth of a mile from the ranger station and people are still wandering the trails.”

Weller looked over at the six parked cars that were in the small lot beside the building.  “Looks that way.” 

“Nice job,” she stated and handed the pictures off to Dean.  She was right, there was nothing missing, these people were intentionally torn to shreds as Sam looked over his shoulder.  “Not much to go on then.” Beth looked at Sam and Dean as she gestured to Weller. “Lead the way.”

Sam kept flipping through the photographs as they went down a fairly well-worn trail that led them deeper into the thick brush.  Beth seemed to be able to multitask as she kept up a conversation with Weller and came knocking on the minds of the two men behind her.  

_ “I don’t like this,” _ she sighed and Sam could feel her growing anxiety.  There was definitely something in the air there, something off.

_ “Boston?”  _  Dean chimed in as Sam grinned.  _ “You had to go with Boston?” _

_ “Listen, Ass, get out of my head unless you have something to add to the discussion.”  _  Beth laughed as she turned and gave him a wink, but Dean made a face at her and Sam rolled his eyes, readying the tranq gun as they went down the trail.  “Who found them?”

“One of the rangers,” Weller replied, which made Beth stop.  He turned to look at her as the small woman glanced around the area before turning to look at Sam and Dean.  “Something wrong?”

“The leaves are changing,” Beth whispered and looked down at the trail covered in them.  “How could someone tell if the trail had been used if it was covered in leaves? There would be no footprints, especially if it had just been raining.”

“How do you know it was raining the day they disappeared?”  Weller stepped closer as Sam handed her the photographs. Beth held one up and looked over the clothing that had been bagged and labeled as evidence. At least they had gotten something right.  

“Condensation on the bag,” Beth pointed out and handed it to him.  “Not from the blood, which would have been dry by the time they got here, but the ground where they were laying.  Plus, the mud on the shoes of the first victim shows me that this trail was fairly wet when they went down it.”

Sam looked around at the fresh leaves and then slowly moved them aside, underneath were still clean but definitely had fallen in the last few days.  

“So, who knew to look for them down here?”  Beth asked again and watched as Weller went for his gun, but Dean had him backed up against a tree, his own Colt pointed under the man’s chin before Weller could even get his upholstered.

“The lady asked you a question,” Dean growled and Sam turned to look at the spot not far from where they were standing.

“Hey, that’s it,” he pointed out to Beth and they both looked over the bloodstained rocks and trees.  Not the best clean up job in the world but Beth never suspected it would be.

“Who told you they were out here?”  Dean questioned, repeating what Beth had asked when she stepped up beside him.

“Sally mentioned the hikers in town; that they stopped at the diner and asked for directions to the trails.”  Weller replied, his hands raised to his side as he felt Dean’s weight against him. “I came up with a few rangers and we walked the trails until we found them.”

“Sally seems to know a lot,” Sam added and waited for Beth to remove his gun before Dean backed off.  She made sure to show that the safety was on before she tucked it away into her belt. 

“What about the couple?”  Beth hadn’t forgotten about them but the woods seemed to be calling to her.

“Same thing,” Weller shrugged.  “They had gone into the diner the morning of and Sally said something wasn’t right with them, they never argued but that morning they were literally at each other’s throats.”

“Don’t you just hate when good relationships go bad?”  Beth’s eyes glanced over Dean as he said this under his breath and quickly she stepped between, her own gun in hand as she pushed Dean back from the man.  Sam raised the tranq gun, unsure of Beth’s next move but her eyes were locked on Dean’s.

“Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do,” she looked over at the three of them.  “Weller, you’re going to head back into town, act like none of this happened and we’re going to stay out here and track this thing.”

“Do you really think that’s safe?”  Weller questioned and watched as Beth handed him back his gun, handle first.  Both Dean and Sam were shocked about this and exchanged a look before Weller took the weapon a little uneasily.

“Not in the slightest,” Beth answered, “but here’s my reasoning.  If we have an animal on the loose and you’re up here, there’s no one to reach out to.  If it’s just me and the boys, then you’ll be the one we call if something pops up. I need you to be at the station in case we come up on something and then you can bring all of Woodland crashing down on our location.”

“Makes sense,” Weller agreed and looked at Dean.  He leaned in towards Beth, a gesture that had Dean’s gun up and aimed.  “You really need to reign that one in, he seems a little trigger happy.”

Beth turned towards Dean and smiled, “only when it counts.” She looked Weller in the eyes and handed him the photographs.  “Get out of here,” but she stopped him as he turned to go, “Weller, one more thing,” the man looked at her, “stay away from the diner.”

“You’re the boss, lady!”  He answered and began the trek out of the woods, with Beth watching him go.  

When he disappeared around the corner and footsteps faded off, Beth turned to Sam and Dean, walked over and placed a hand on his weapon, lowering for him as something sparked in his eyes.

“I think we got a problem,” Beth sighed and shook her head.

“Ya think?”  Dean replied angrily.  “You just let Officer Andy walk away, AFTER I threatened him at gunpoint!  Do you really think he’s not going to report that?”

“Actually, I’m kind of hoping he does.”  Beth whispered as she made her way further on down the trail, where it moves into the thicker spots of evergreens.  “This wasn’t an animal.”

“Not a regular animal, or not a Greek shifter animal?”  Sam questioned and watched as she smiled at him, he knew her way of thinking way too well.

“Not an animal at all,” she replied and watched his eyebrows go up.  Funny, he had been thinking the same thing. “What makes two completely normal human beings rip each other apart like that?”

“Wait, you’re saying they did that to each other?”  Dean questioned and watched as Beth moved back to the dried blood spots just off the trail.

“The pattern on the skin was right, jagged and pretty sloppy, not at all like anything with claws.”  Sam was looking down at his phone as he answered Dean’s question. The man was smart, he knew Beth would give back the photographs as a sign of good faith so he was quietly in the background taking pictures.  

“There aren’t any tracks after the scene, no other ones leading up to it except our rangers and the couple.”  Beth pointed out as she looked down the trail. “Six sets of tracks from that day, from the depressions in the ground, two coming up from the hikers, just a bit older than the other two and four moving in both directions, which would be Weller and the ranger coming up and going back.  The rest are older, not as deep, which meant the ground had hardened by then.”

“I thought we were supposed to be the trackers,” Sam smiled and watched as she stood.  

“I’m closer to the ground,” Beth laughed and looked up at him as she smiled and patted him on the chest.  “Something made them either paranoid or hallucinate, and they ripped each other a new one, in the literal sense.”

“So, we’re dealing with big magic here, something that can reach two people way out here in the woods?”  Sam spoke up and watched Beth circle the trees.

“How about something focused in the middle of it all?”  Dean questioned and watched as both of them turned in his direction.  “Sam said it on the way up here, the woods, the diner, the other vics, the motel, all within a two-mile span.”

“Monsters are stupid, but come on, they can’t all be that dumb.” Beth laughed, but watched the seriousness on his face.  “What’s going on, Dean?”

“When I had him up against that tree, he wasn’t him,” Sam gave him a strange look and Dean rubbed his face.  “Listen, I can’t explain it, but the guy I had ready to blow away wasn’t Andy…Weller, whatever, it was something else.”

“Like something from your past?” Beth whispered and Dean nodded.  She thought back on the day and shook her head. “Okay, we need to narrow the field,” and she smiled at them both.  “Looks like you two get to play dress-up.”

With that the three of them headed out of the woods.  Beth brought the pickup back to where Dean had snatched it from, some old junkyard outside the town limits and she cleaned off all of her prints before grabbing her bag.  With a quick look around the place, a solemn feeling came over her. The yard looked like Bobby’s and she gave a little smile as she stared up towards the sky.

“Thanks for the truck, old man,” she whispered, knowing he must have had a hand in something if they were going to be able to get away with jacking it and bringing it back unnoticed.

Beth hopped into the back of the Impala and locked her gaze on Dean, who was staring at her through the rear view.  They drove in silence back to the hotel where Beth helped press the wrinkles out of the white shirts that both of them wore, but as she did so, she could feel Sam’s eyes on her as the steam from Dean’s shower started to flow under the doors.

“If you got something to say, Sammy, spit it out,” she smiled as she glanced up at him before putting the iron on its side so it wouldn’t scorch the fabric.

“What’s up with you and Dean?”  He questioned, which made Beth unplug the small machine and walk over towards him.  He was sitting at the table and she leaned on the closet thing, the dresser before she crossed her arms, looking at him suspiciously.

“Excuse me?” She whispered and watched as his jaw tensed, his only tell that something was really angering him. “There’s nothing with me and Dean, where is this coming from?”

“When we stopped earlier, you were talking to him and there was this look in your eyes, like you were upset at me for stopping because it affected him.”  Sam’s voice was even, no sign of any type of threat but she could see it in his face.

“You think I was upset because I couldn’t give Dean some sort of sexual get up and go?” Now she knew something was off.  “Sam, I was worried about you, worried that you actually felt whatever was in the room with us. I thought they were coming after you.”

“I didn’t look it that way,” he answered and watched as she stepped forward.  Beth uncrossed her arm and placed one hand on each side of his face, tilting his head up to look her in the eyes.  

“There’s nothing, no one, I would put before you and Dean, but as far as that goes, it’s all you.”

“Why do I feel so paranoid?”  Sam sighed loudly and placed his hands on hers.  “In the woods, when you stopped him from hurting Weller, I saw it again, that connection.”

“Connection?”  She grinned and bit her lip, but it was that word that made her step back.  “According to Hera, all three of us share that connection, Sam, but it doesn’t change what we have.  I still love you, I’m still in love with you, just like Dean, and I…I have no idea how to prove anything to you at the moment.”

Sam pulled her close, trapping her waist in his hands, and he placed his cheek against her stomach as he wrapped his arms around her.  Beth looked down, smoothing her hands over his hair and she looked out the window. Sam was just as confused as she was, but the look in his eyes made her feel lost.  

Dean stepped out of the bathroom, only a towel wrapped around his lower half as he dried his hair with the other and he stopped to look at the couple by the window. Beth turned just slightly to look into his eyes and he grabbed the finished suit before heading back in.  Sam’s arms clung tighter and she sighed.

 

Beth waited for them both to be dressed, shaved and ready to go before she grabbed the laptop and hopped up on the dresser.  She straightened Sam’s tie, which was unusual since it was nearly perfect every time. This time he had done it haphazardly, but he smiled as she placed both hands on his chest and gave him a wink.  Dean looked up from the mirror beside his bed and his eyes traced over her face before connecting to her gaze, his tie done as well as she had seen it in a long time and he turned, shrugging on the coat.

“The reports that Weller dropped off said the couple lived at 1455 West Main, right in the epicenter of whatever the hell is going on.” Beth talked as they loaded the guns and dug through the bag to find their IDs.  “He also sent along Coroner’s reports and pictures of the scene. Nothing looks out of place, just your basic M/S and we have nothing to go on.”

“Relatives, neighbors, anyone who had heard the shots?” Dean questioned.  

“The Shotspotter reported the gun going off, it’s the only way they knew it was in town.”  Beth answered and shook her head. 

“A Shot Spotter in a little town like this?”  Sam questioned. 

“Weller said they have a lot of poachers, it’s good for pinpointing the where so they can find the who, so when it went off in town they knew it was something other than a bear.”  She watched the two of them stand there, all dressed up in their fancy suits and she hoped she never got used to it. “Okay, so what you have to go on is that Mr. and Mrs. Dana Swift came into the diner that morning, seeming to be on edge, both went to work, apart they were fine but dinner at the local five-star, AKA whatever restaurant is here in town, had them bickering over who let the cat out…” Beth stopped and blinked once or twice before she continued reading, “anyway, so patrons said they left in a heated argument and two hours later, bang-bang, no more Mr. and Mrs.”

“Do you think you could be a little less disrespectful?”  Dean’s voice questioned which made Beth’s eyes snap up in his direction. He wasn’t even looking at her, he was straightening the clip on his tie, but when he did happen to glance up at both of them, his look was that of utter confusion.  “What?”

“Did you seriously just say that?”  Sam asked as Dean looked around.

“Wait, what did I say?”  Beth saw the honest bewilderment in his eyes.

“Ah, you asked her to be a little less disrespectful,” Sam replied and watched as Dean’s brow went up in surprise.

“Okay,” he paused and thought for a moment, “has there ever been a time that I thought anything she said was disrespectful?”  Both Beth and Sam shook their heads as Dean buttoned his coat, “then stop looking at me like I have three heads and let’s get our asses moving.”

Beth smiled and watched as Sam was the one confused this time but followed his brother out, but not before stopping to place his hand against Beth’s cheek and kiss her softly on the lips.

“We’ll be right back,” he grinned and scooted out after his brother.  

She stared at the door, a little unsure of what had just happened and shook her head, before clicking off the tab she had been on and typing something else into the search bar.  Her eyes widened as she read down the site, praying that the boys would make it back quickly. Night fall was coming and according to this, they didn’t stand a chance.

 

The Impala rumbled up towards the house, a colonial-style, hunter green stood before them, large pointed bushes crowded the front yard, blocking most of the windows but the yellow tape that was stretched across the door was a dead giveaway that they were in the right place.

Dean parked across the street and the two of them walked past the front door, heading for the less obvious back one that was away from the street.  Sam picked the lock on the kitchen door as Dean kept watch. It took about thirty seconds for the younger brother to pop it open and they entered quietly, guns drawn, just in case but it was cold and empty.

Beth hadn’t given them much details about the inside of the house but Sam could feel the energy that whipped around inside and he didn’t like the feeling.  Dean nudged him, feeling the same thing as the two of them split up and headed through the kitchen’s two entrances. Sam ended up in the dining room, Dean in a hallway that lead passed a laundry room and down toward the stairway.  

There was a den to his right, the living room straight ahead and Sam meet him at the bottom of the stairway.  Their communication was just eye and facial expressions, something each could clearly read and there was nothing downstairs that gave away any signs of foul play.  Sam made his way up the stairs, his back to the wall, the gun pointing outward, and upward, guarding himself as Dean followed behind, his sights trained on the rest of the small hall that was coming into play as they hit the halfway point of the fourteen steps.  He watched behind as Sam watched ahead.

Once they hit the top of the stairs, Sam gestured right and Dean raised his brow, gave a shrug and headed left, each took a room, but it was obvious that the one Dean stepped into was where it all happened.  

Sam surveyed the bathroom and two of the guest bedrooms at the end of his hallway before he moved towards Dean.  Glancing down the stairs quickly, Sam stepped softly as he moved in Dean’s direction, but as he turned the corner, Dean stood there, gun at his side, staring at the blood that coated the walls and the bed.

“Looks like Mr. and Mrs. forgot to mention the mess to the cleaning crew.”  Dean said sarcastically and watched as Sam checked out the way the blood spatter landed on the bed, walls and carpet.  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yep, neither were standing when this happened.” Sam still had his gun ready as he found a spot on the floor to check under the bed, but he heard the slide click back on Dean’s gun and looked up to find his brother staring angrily down at him.  “Dean, what are you doing?”

“You can’t keep her all to yourself, you know.”  His voice had that same tone that was present at the motel. Sam placed his gun down on the floor and raised his hands as he stood up or at least tried to when he felt the barrel press against the back of his head.  “She’s mine too.”

“Are we really having an argument about Beth right now?”  Sam questioned, closing his eyes as he scanned the room.

“We both put that ring on her finger, Sam, you can’t just keep her.”  Dean replied and Sam recognized the fear in his voice.

“Dean,” he whispered and took a deep breath.  “Dean, something’s in your head. You know I wouldn’t keep Beth from you, ever.”

“You’re full of crap, Sam, you’ve been doing everything on this trip to keep her to yourself!”  

“What?” Sam laughed, and pushed back on the gun, feeling the pressure relax and he knew Dean was fighting it.  “I know she’s just as much yours as she is mine. If you need her, all you have to do is…”

“I can’t just take her, Sam,” his voice turned to something more of a plea.  “That would kill her, open her up to a world of hurt, and I couldn’t live with myself if I did that.”

“Dean,” the voice behind them whispered and both men turned in the direction of the doorway as another slide clicked into place.  “Don’t make me shoot you!” Beth watched the scene before her and sighed. She was too late, or at least late enough. “Drop it!”

“I can’t, Beth, I can’t just let him go,” Dean’s voice reminded her of the Harpies.  

“I will shoot you!”  She stated and stepped into the room, which brought his gun to her level.  “I’m faster and better than you, Winchester, you won’t get the shot off before I put you down.”

“You won’t kill me,” Dean stated, his voice full of pain.

“No, but I can drop you,” Beth whispered and watched as Sam didn’t move.  “Don’t make me hurt you, please, drop the gun.”

She could see his mind going, the wavering in his hold on the weapon and Sam took the opportunity to get the jump on him.  Beth ducked as Sam moved quickly, wrapping his arms around Dean’s waist as he brought his older brother to the ground, the gun went off, hitting the fan as Sam grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the floor several times before Dean released the gun.

The perplexed look on Dean’s face was back in full swing as he looked up at his brother, who still had him pinned to the ground.  The one corner of Beth’s lip was turned up in a smile as Dean’s green eyes settled on her and the gun in her hand, but she slowly raised it, both hands in a surrendering move as she flipped the safety on and placed it in the back of her jeans.

Sam helped Dean up, snatching both guns once the man was in an upright position, and Sam shook his head.  Dean watched his brother as the three of them made their way out of the house rather quickly and to the Impala.  Dean looked around for a second and then at the woman who snatched the keys out of his hand.

“How did you get here?”  Sam questioned and Beth just gave him a full smile as she got in the car and started the engine, waiting just long enough for them to close the doors before she took off from the spot.  She drove past the hotel and just outside the town limits before she pulled over and glanced over at them both. “Okay, what gives?”

“Do you both feel better?”  She asked, turning in the seat so she could see Dean, who had been pushed to sit in the backseat.  He took a deep breath, his eyes still full of wonder and nodded, Sam also gave her the okay and watched as she took the keys out of the ignition.  “Good, now what the hell was that back there?”

“I don’t know,” Dean sighed.  “I was just all jacked up on memories, and these thoughts of not having you anymore.  It was so weird, I don’t remember pointing the gun.”

“What do you got, Beth?”  Sam questioned.

“From what I get, there’s something in town, not an Olympian but something that belonged to one of them.”  She pulled the papers out of her pocket and opened them up. They were printed documents which made Sam question where she had gotten them from and Beth smiled.  “You’d be amazed what twenty bucks will get you from the front office.” She winked at Sam who took the papers and sat looking at an old encyclopedia page, but the second page was a painting. “So, the Necklace of Harmonia was thought to bring ill fortune to anyone who possessed it.”

“So you think that all the vics had the necklace?”  Dean questioned as Sam handed him back the papers.

“Nope, I think only one person has it,” Beth smiled.  Dean never got why she found it funny to spout off her knowledge about Greek mythology but he couldn’t help but love that grin when she gave it.  “The story goes, and I probably have some of it wrong because it’s been a while since I heard it. The necklace was made by the blacksmith to the Gods, Hepheastus.”

“Sounds catchy, do they have cream for that,” Dean mumbled in the back of the car, only getting a roll of Beth’s eyes.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”  Beth grinned and watched as he smiled, nodding.  “Well, his wife was Aphrodite who had an affair with Ares and long story short they had a daughter together.  Hepheastus curse the necklace to bring ill fortune to anyone who wore it, and as you can see by the entry, it went through a lot of people, some gained by it, getting beauty and eternal youth, some got some pretty rough endings, like Harmonia’s daughter, Semele, who was tricked into asking her lover to reveal his true form, which was Zeus, and instantly killed her.  The necklace went through a long line of mortals and Gods alike before being sent to the Temple of Athena in Delphi. It was stolen by Phayllus, who gave it to his lover, but her son fell into madness and set the house on fire, killing everyone in it, which comes to my long winded point. The necklace was never seen again.”

“Okay, so long winded point,” Dean spoke up and gave her a grin, “you think the necklace is here, and someone is using it to kill these people, why?”

“If it can give some eternal youth, why couldn’t it be used to punish those who the person feels deserves it? Cause strife amongst brothers, bring two people to rip each other apart?”  Beth sighed and took the papers back. “I think someone in town is a demigod, or full blown, it doesn’t matter but they are playing judge and jury with that necklace.”

“How do we find them?”  Sam questioned and Beth raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”  Beth looked between the two of them, “after the stunt that was just pulled, you really think I’m letting the two of you anywhere near the town line?”   

“It’s a God, Beth, you can’t do this alone.”  Dean spoke up and watched her turn in the seat. 

“And you pulled a gun on your brother,” she snapped, her eyes dead serious before she turned to Sam, “and in your opinion, I’m choosing him over you.  Do you realize that whatever the hell this is, that it’s gotten to you?”

“She has a point, you did point your gun at me,” Sam said as he glanced at Dean.

“Don’t be a douche,” Dean replied and stared at Beth.  “You can’t go in alone.”

“I’m not,” she grinned and looked out the side of the car at the man who stood behind Sam.  “I’m taking him.” 

Both Sam and Dean turned to see Cas standing in the middle of the road.  Both exited as Beth took her time and the boys exchanged hugs before they stepped back and looked him over.  No trench coat, no business suit, just jeans, a tee and a lightweight jacket.

“Is Becca domesticating you?”  Dean questioned.

“Beth said this would be the best disguise for the operation,” Cas replied and looked at the woman on the other side of the car.  “I find it appropriate.”

Dean turned to Beth and watched as she smiled, her hands on the hood of the car.  Sam and Dean exchanged looks as Beth rounded the front and the four of them stood there.

“We’re not allowed back at the motel until what? You take care of the God?”  Sam questioned.

“Nope, just the necklace,” Beth answered and stuffed her hands into the pocket of her black jacket.  “The necklace gives the powers to the person wearing it. Once destroyed, the powers, and the person should go bye-bye.”

“And you think dragging Cas into this is a good idea?”  Dean spoke up, looking back and forth between them.

“I think Cas is a great idea,” Beth looked up at the dark-haired man.  “He hasn’t been made, Officer Andy doesn’t know him, he isn’t dressed like Feds and most importantly, he won’t turn into a dick when he comes in contact with the thing.”

“She has a point.”  Sam agreed and watched the dirty look that Dean gave him.

“How are we supposed to help while standing here outside town lines?”  

“You’re not, that the idea.”  Beth flipped the Impala’s keys in her hand.  “Just down the path is an old hunting shack, something Cas found while scouting the area, it’s outside the line and safe.  You two just need to hang out there while we search the town.”

“I don’t like it,” Dean said furious and he stepped up to Beth, who had no problem looking up into his glaring green eyes, “you’re asking for trouble.”

“All I’m asking for is for you and Sam to stay here and stay safe.”  She was unwavering in her eye contact and Dean drew in a deep breath, puffing out his chest, like that would make the girl back down from her stand. He reached out, placed his hands on her neck and caressed her cheek with her thumbs. “You’re not going to make me change my mind.”

“I don’t intend to, but I’m certainly going to make sure you know how much you are wanted so that you come back in one piece.”  He replied and kissed her hard and passionately before she had a chance to respond. Sam, while trying to keep his cool, found the smile edge up on his lips.  He wanted to be mad, to still find that jealousy that he held back at the hotel, but she was right, outside the lines, it was gone and they were a trio again. When Dean backed away, Beth slowly opened her eyes and watched as he tasted her on his lips.  “Come back to us, Beth, don’t play around with this thing.”

“I’m not big on playing,” she winked and Dean backed away, headed towards his brother but he stopped and looked at Cas.

“If she doesn’t come back in one piece, Cas…”Dean grinned at the man but Castiel’s face told him just about everything he wanted to know.  Cas would never let anything happen to Beth. Sam sighed, taking his time to move closer to the woman.

“You’re playing with fire,” Sam whispered, as his right hand came up and his fingers tangled in her hair.  His lips grazed the side of her cheek and his breath was warm against her ear. Beth grasped hold of his shirt and tugged on him, his left arm wrapped securely around her as she drew in his scent.  “I don’t want you to leave.”

“There’s not choice in this one, Sam,” Beth sighed as his lips traveled down to her neck, the fingers in her hair stroking that spot, just that one spot that always had her melting into his arms.  “Not with the way you and Dean have been at each other.”

“I’m afraid,” he confided in her and Beth turned her head, his lips moving across her forehead as she did and she felt the thump in his chest grow stronger.  His confession almost made her heart stop but she leaned her head up and let his lips touch hers softly, just enough to let the emotions follow. It wasn’t like Dean’s, hard and wanting, it was soft and caressing, full of the love they shared and the connection but she backed away just as breathless. 

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she whispered, and caught his eyes.  “I’m not going after it, I’m just going to see what I can find.” Beth pressed her hand against his chest and backed away from his arms because if she had her way, she would stay there forever.  She looked up at Cas, nodding, and then turned to Sam. “Give me an hour, I promise, I’ll be back.”

Sam moved to stand with his brother and they watched as the black car turned and rolled down the street back towards town.  Sam turned to Dean and the two of them walked off down the path that Beth had pointed out.

“You really think this is a good idea?”  Dean questioned and Sam shook his head.

“Not in the slightest.”  He sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets.

 

Cas walked into the diner behind Beth, who smiled up at the people that surrounded her.  Sally grinned at her and gestured to the empty table in her section. Beth sat down slowly, taking in all of the faces around them and watched as Cas slid in across from her, his own blue eyes scanning the area.  He hadn’t said a word since they left the boys but Beth knew just what he was thinking. She had gotten him in trouble with his family by having him go along with this insane idea but he was the only one that he could trust not to fall under the spell.

“Hey, you came back,” Sally smiled but it faded when she looked at Cas, “where’s your other two friends?”

“Ah, business associates,” Beth smiled and gestured to Cas.  “This is my brother, he was getting our room ready when we stopped in this morning.  I figured since breakfast was so good, that I would introduce him to it.”

Sally smiled as she gave Cas the once over, but Beth’s eyes were locked on the necklace that she had held the first time.  Sally took the order, and walked away from the table as Cas continued to look.

“Those woods give me that feeling of evil,” Cas whispered and Beth smiled. 

“Two of the victims died there,” Beth replied and pulled out the papers she had stuffed in her coat pocket.  Cas looked down as she slid the picture of the necklace over to him. “Look familiar?”

“The woman who just took our order was wearing it,” he replied and flipped the paper over as Sally returned with two coffees.

“Soda for breakfast, coffee for dinner, such an odd way of doing things.”  Sally smiled and watched Beth grin.

“I have to keep the guys on their toes,” she poured two of the creamers in the cup of black liquid and looked up to see the intense stare she was getting from the woman.  “You know, men never like when a woman upstages them.” She looked over at Cas, who hadn’t touched the coffee, “right, Cas.”

“Absolutely,” he answered and nodded as he brought the cup closer.  Sally licked her lips as she watched the man with the dark hair also pour the liquid into it.  Beth focused on her face, and at the necklace around her neck.

“Say, Sally, the hikers in the woods, ever had anything happen like that before?”  Beth questioned and watched as she turned back to her, shaking her head. 

“Actually, nothing ever happens in this town, not for a very long time.”  The waitress stood up, apparently satisfied and shrugged. “Dinner will be out soon.”  

And with that she walked away.  Cas picked up the cup and raised it to his lips, but as his blue eyes met Beth’s she gave slight shake of her head and he put it down with a clank against the table.  Beth pushed the cup in front of her off to the side and gestured with her fingers for him to pass the paper. 

“You found something?”  Cas whispered.

“The coffee,” Beth answered and glanced over the print out of the painting in front of her.  Harmonia was pouring something from a pitcher. “I think the coffee is how she’s getting to people.”

“The coffee?  A beverage?” Cas’ tone was one that Dean would take and Beth found herself smiling.  

“Yep, both boys had it this morning with breakfast. I had soda, which our little Sally noticed when I ordered a cup of it now.  She was dead set on making sure that both you and I were going to drink it she didn’t notice that her necklace was hanging out again.”  Beth pointed to the same design on the necklace in the painting with Harmonia. “How much you want to make a bet she’s magically drugging the coffee?”

“Is that possible?”  Cas looked at her confused.

“With Olympian’s everything is possible,” she grabbed a few napkins and lifted a finger, signaling him to watch as she “accidentally” tipped the cup over.  “Awe, crap!” She exclaimed and tried her best to stop the liquid from spilling to the floor. Sally was the first one over there and the look on her face was pure anger.  “I’m really sorry, I guess I should have had the cup in the morning, I’ve been clumsy all day.”

“It’s no problem,” Sally spoke but the smile was faked and the cover up of her anger was even more evident.  She used a towel to wipe down the table before she looked up at Beth. “I’ll get you another cup.”

When Sally left, Beth raised an eyebrow and looked back at Cas.  “I guess that gives some confirmation to our theory.”

“And we know who our Olympian is.” Beth slid out of the seat as Cas also moved.  The two stood and without glancing back made their way out of the diner. “What’s going to happen next?”

“The boys and I need to take care of that necklace,” she whispered as Cas slid into the passenger’s seat.  Beth looked over at him before she turned down the road. “Any luck with that symbol?”

“None yet,” but he turned to face her, “why not tell them your thoughts, you’re making things more complicated than they need to be for yourself and for them.”

“I appreciate the insight, Cas, but I’m not even sure what it means.” She smiled at him, winking as she turned toward the town line.

 

Dean and Sam looked up as the door open and only Beth stepped in.  Dean got up and looked around outside before he sat down and stared at Beth.

“Where is he?”  A smile crossed Beth’s face.

“In New York, I would assume,” she shrugged.  “I only brought him here for another set of eyes, and I sent him back to protect the house, Becca, and your mother.  I think I know what’s going on.”

“So, spill.”

Beth told them about the interaction in the diner, about the way that Sally had reacted with the coffee spilling on the floor and the necklace but.  She also pointed out that Dean didn’t have just one cup at breakfast. He had gone back to the diner and ordered a second cup when Beth had interrupted, a cup that he had downed before even making it back to the hotel.

“So what, we have to get rid of the coffee?”  Sam questioned.

“Just the necklace, it’s what’s giving her the powers, and she’s using it to ramp it up with magic.”  Beth stood and paced the cabin. “Cas warded the room, if you want to go back, I can’t promise that it will keep everything out but it will definitely keep out whatever mojo she’s tossing around.” 

“Anything is better than this place,” Dean smiled as he stood and held his hand out, waiting for her to hand over the keys.  Gently, she placed them down in his hand and watched as Sam remained seated. 

“What’s on your mind, Sammy?”  She whispered, stepping up to him.

“It’s not over and we’re walking right back into the heart of it.”  He let out a noise of his disapproval and placed his hands on her hips.  “Not a tactic I would expect from you.”

“A woman can’t work forever,” she shrugged and pulled out her phone.  While surveying the diner, she noticed the schedule that was through the doorway and was able to zoom in enough to take a picture.  “If all goes right, this will be over before midnight.”

“You’re sneaky,” he smiled.

“Nah, I’m just that good.”  She kissed him softly on the lips as they heard the engine of the Impala purr. “Our cue to blow this Popsicle stand.”

 

They paced the room, for most of the afternoon, but at some point they had decided an all-nighter wasn’t the best idea, since the plan was to be out before the sun came up, especially if part of it involved taking care of a certain waitress.

Beth was the last one asleep, she paced quietly, tried to read, but as she looked at the bed, one occupied by Sam, the other by Dean, she found that her eyes were just fighting her and she wanted so much to close them. That was, until the moan on the bed began.  She stood up and watched as Sam tossed in his sleep. She placed a hand on his, trying to calm him down but she felt herself get sucked into the dream state, and watched as he fought with his inner demons.

 

Sam’s head pounded as he forced himself to find his way through the darkened woods.  He wasn’t sure where he was and he certainly didn’t know where he was but he was disorientated and from what he could tell, he was bleeding from cuts on his arms.  The world looked like some sort of distorted acid trip as his eyes tried to focus on the path before him. He reached out with arms that felt disjointed from his body to move branches he wasn’t sure he was grabbing all the while he could hear the laughter behind him.

It was a sound he knew, but one that he couldn’t quite put his finger on as it grew louder than softer and he wasn’t sure if he was moving away from it or getting closer.  He needed to stop, his legs burned from running but he had a bad feeling if he did that he would meet with something out of his nightmares. The pain surged through his body, giving him fleeting moments of clarity in an otherwise demented fog.

His feet gave out from under him as they slipped on the wet grass and he tumbled down a large embankment, crashing into the fallen log at the bottom.  Everything on him hurt, but in those seconds, when he was in the most pain, he could see clearly and he watched the figure of a woman approaching. 

“Sammy.”  Serena’s voice was clear and loud, as if she were yelling in his ear.

“Don’t,” he moaned, wanting to finish his sentence but the sound of his own voice sent a flash of pain through his skull.  He reached up with his hands, pressing them tightly against his temple as his eyes focused again.

“Sammy!” The Voice teased and he turned over and started to push himself up from the wet piles of leaves.  The pain was excruciating but he fought his way through it as he managed to get to wobbly legs. 

Sam struggled to remain conscious in this nightmare but he could feel the pressure against his chest starting to climb, and the burning feeling as if fingers were grasping at his arms.  He watched as she started to waver, along with his eyesight and suddenly he was swept into darkness.

 

He could feel the ground underneath him, the roughness of the old carpet in the motel, and he spread his hands out to his side to make as much solid contact as possible.  Even the humidity in the air changed as he began to take in deeper breaths.

The voices in his ears were different, they didn’t hurt as they spoke to him.  One was deep and concerned, the other calm and female. He could feel his eyes fluttering as he tried his best to bring himself around but the hands on his chest, gripping at his shirt also brought pressure down on his lungs.

“Dean! Jesus Christ, let him go before you kill him!”  Beth’s clear voice caused his heart to flutter and suddenly the hands were ripped from his shirt.  The pressure released and he took in a deep breath, opening his eyes wide. “Sam.” She whispered, close to his ear. “Sam, can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” he said with a whisper.  “What happened?”

“You nearly gave me a heart attack, that’s what happened!”  Dean’s grouchy “you woke me from a great dream” voice made him turn his head to his right to look at his scruffy brother, whose hair was sticking up in a dozen different ways.

“Sam,” Beth’s sweet words drifted over him and he turned back to take her in.  He reached up with those cold fingers and swept them across her cheek. “Sam, you were having a nightmare.  We couldn’t wake you up. Dean thought…well, Dean thought something had gotten to you.”

“I had the worst nightmare.”  He sighed and rolled over, placing his head on her lap as he pulled his knees to his chest.  

Beth looked up at the man sitting on the floor in his boxers and a tee-shirt, who ran his hands up through his hair.  Dean sighed, and closed his eyes. It looked like they were in for a long night as Beth sat back against the bedpost and Dean grabbed a pillow from the floor beside Sam’s feet where he had knocked it off.  

Dean grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around Beth’s shoulders and lay down beside her, his head close to Sam’s and he watched her weary eyes as she closed them.  She took a deep breath, running a hand through Sam’s hair and then reached out for Dean with the other. Having them both close was going to get her through whatever was going on with Sam. Dean kissed the top of her fingers and closed his eyes as they both tried to get some kind of sleep.

 

The light that shined above the table was almost blinding and Sam tried to moan as he raised a hand to block it out. It was then that he noticed Dean’s bare legs that stuck out from under a small portion of the blanket.  As soon as he moved, he could feel the grip of the hand that lay against his hips and he turned his head to look up at Beth. The whole positioning of this was off and quickly Sam sat up to look at just where he was. 

Dean lay on the floor, his body tucked up against Beth as much as he could get without touching the spot where Sam’s head had been.  Beth herself was sleeping sitting up, her head hanging forward, one hand on Dean’s shoulder, the other was the one that gripped Sam’s shirt but it was the fact that he was laying between the motel beds that made him more curious.

He remembered the nightmare, one of Serena who had come back to threaten to take Beth.  It had been so long since he had thought of her, but the overwhelming feeling of not being able to break out of it had made his heart race.  He thought about the voices that had shaken him loose from the grips of the dream. Dean’s growl, the one he was so used to hearing, one that had kept him aware and alert on the brink of consciousness had helped to bring him out of the frightful state he had been in, but he also had heard Beth’s calm voice. Something almost angelic and alluring, which calmed him and he remembered turning over, pulling himself against her and nothing more.

Oh, no!  They had slept like that for hours.  Sam sighed and moved, he crouched down, placed one of Beth’s arms around his neck and picked her up, pulling her close as he lifted and placed her down on the bed. It was the click of the gun that made him turn and look down at Dean, half asleep and pointing the business end of the gun at him and Sam raised his hands.

“Whoa, whoa!” Sam exclaimed as Dean slowly stood, his breathing heavy and unsure. “Dean, put the gun down!”

“Beth, where is she?”  The older man questioned, and Sam stepped to the side, revealing the body on the bed.  Dean kept him in his sights as they danced, Sam moving to the left as Dean made his way toward the bed.  He reached down and placed his fingers against Beth’s neck, feeling the thump of her heart.

“Dean! Put the gun down!”  Sam ordered and watched the fury blaze in his brother’s eyes, “it’s me, Sam!  I would never hurt Beth, you know that!”

“You’re not my brother, you lying little God!”  Dean growled, his lips turned up in a snarl as he braced himself against the bed.  “You’re that Harpy Bitch that made me chose, but this time, I chose her! DO you hear me? I chose HER!”

“Dean!”  Beth’s voice ripped through whatever dream fog he was in, and Sam watched his face soften.  He saw the emotions in the older one’s eyes as Beth moved on the bed, turning to face both of them.  Her eyes were filled with confusion as she pushed herself up to a seated position and slowly raised her hand.  “Dean, put it away, Sam’s not going to hurt me.”

The weapon slowly lowered and Dean shook his head, closing his eyes tightly as he sat down on the edge of the bed just opposite from her. Sam relaxed as Dean set the safety on and placed the gun down on the comforter.  Beth slipped from the bed, gently stroking Sam’s arm as he passed and knelt down in front of Dean.

“Open your eyes,” she whispered, Dean slowly obeyed and looked down at her, his eyes glistening with tears.  “It was just a dream, just a really bad nightmare.”

“Beth,” he whispered and reached out, cupping her face with both hands, “what the hell happened?”

“You were stuck in a dream,” she turned and looked up at Sam, “like he was.”

“I did that?”  Sam questioned.

“Sort of,” Beth stood, taking Dean’s hand instead of breaking the connection completely.  “You drew yours too, but you said Serena’s name, you dreaming about my sister.”

Sam relaxed enough to sit down on the bed, Beth standing between them and he glanced over at the weapon still in reaching distance of Dean.  With a sigh, Beth grabbed the gun and placed it on the dresser right beside Sam’s own piece and shook her head.

“You,” she stared down at Dean, “were dreaming about Harpies again, and you,” her sights turned to Sam, “were dreaming about Serena and I know it wasn’t in the nicest context ever.  So what’s with the nightmares?”

Sam cleared his throat and looked up at her, a little lost.  “I was being chased through the woods, Serena caught up with me and threatened to take you. It was like living a memory but so much worse.  I couldn’t get myself out of it, couldn’t shake the dream, but I heard you and Dean. It was the only way out.”

“And you?”  Beth turned to Dean, who was still looking at Sam in utter shock that he had pulled a gun on his own brother.  He contemplated an apology but the anger from the dream was still there, the fury that he felt.

“Harpies,” was the only thing he managed to get out before looked away and exhaled loudly.  “Look, I’m not going to justify a dream, nightmare…whatever. I just know it felt real.”

“Fine,” Beth whispered and crossed her arms as she looked back and forth between them, then looked at the time.  “We came here for a reason, boys, I think it’s time we take care of it.”

 

Beth waited in the shadows of the back of the diner. She could see Dean from one angle and Sam from the other but all she wanted was the necklace.  She didn’t want to hurt the woman, but if it came down to it, she would put her boys first.

Sally was all smiles as she walked out, the last one to close the doors, they had made sure of it, but as she approached the beat up car with her keys in hand, she slowly came to a stop.  Beth stepped out and looked at her, her gun in hand, pointed straight at the woman and Sally turned to face her.

“I knew there was something off about you.” Sally said with an evil hiss and Beth made a face as if she weren’t surprised.

“I just want the necklace, Sally and we can be done with this, no one needs to get hurt.” Beth shrugged as she stepped up to the woman, but Sally just laughed.

“Over my dead body,” the waitress chuckled.

“That can be arranged, but I would prefer to do it my way.”

“Where’s your men?  I can feel them from here.” Dean and Sam both stepped out, guns at the ready as Beth moved in closer.  “They are under my spell, I’m surprised they haven’t put each other down yet, nasty dogs!”

“Yeah, but they’re mine and I won’t allow that to happen.”

“I was wondering why things hadn’t worked on you too.” Sally turned to look at her fully and she only sighed.  “You’re that pesky Demi that they’ve been chatting about, the human with the wards.”

“North Wind.” She spoke proudly.

“Yes, that’s it, the North Wind,” Sally smiled.  “I bet I could get a fair price for your head if I brought you in alive.  I prefer dead but they want you alive for some reason.”

“I prefer not at all, so I think we’ll go with my choice.” Sam watched the grin grow on Beth’s face as she moved closer than he was comfortable with.  “The necklace, Harmonia, just hand it over.”

“You know who I am, well, I’m flattered,” but Beth watched as she looked at the boys.  The wards should have held but Sam and Dean suddenly pointed their guns at each other before she turned back to her. “So, North Wind, you have two choices, let your dogs shoot each other, or come for my necklace.”

“Beth, just shoot!”  Dean growled and Sam fought to keep the trigger finger from twitching back.  Dean’s breath caught as he stared down his brother, there was no anger this time, no hatred, only the power the woman held over their fingers and Sam watched him squint his eyes.

_ “Can you hear me, Sammy?” _ Dean questioned and watched as his brother gave him a slight nod.  _ “Can you see her over my shoulder?” _ Again, Sam nodded but he caught onto what Dean was getting at and closed his eyes.   _ “Take the shot, Sam!” _

“I’m not going to shoot her, not while the two of you are standing off.”  Beth could only hear the bits of their mental conversation as she tried to hold off the power the woman in front of her sent off in waves.

Waves likes Crowley, waves of evil that she had felt before and slowly the song invaded her mind. Beth’s eyes stared at the woman, at the laughing woman before her and all she felt was anger, and hatred and violence.  Beth raised the gun, aiming it at the center of the necklace, the way the snakes coiled around the jewel in the middle and just as Sam squeezed the trigger, so did Beth. 

Two bullets, one aimed for the jewel in the center, one aimed for her head and both collided with a blaze as Dean felt it tear through just below his collar bone on his right side. The jewel smashed but the bullet didn’t pass through, only Sam’s met its mark as it collided with the side of her head.

All three ducked as two bursts of the white light hit them and when it passed, Beth found herself crouched in the parking lot, Sam at Dean’s side and the woman gone.  She made her way over to where the two of them sat, with Sam putting pressure against both sides of Dean’s arm.

“What did you do that for?”  She questioned and Dean turned to look at her, the pain in his eyes seemed to take away from the smile that crossed his face.

“Hey, I can play hero once in a while too.”  He laughed and winced. Beth placed her hands above Sam’s and closed her eyes, forcing everything towards that hole, the one that went completely through his arm and Dean felt the heat that began to build up. He held his jaw together, not willing to make a sound as the flesh meshed back together and when she was done, Beth sat back on the ground, exhausted.  Sam let him go and Dean inspected lack of a hole in his arm. “Not far, Beth, I wanted that scar!”

“Next time,” she replied, breathlessly and pulled her knees up to steady herself.  “I promise.”

“We need to get out of here,” Sam suggested as he listened to the approaching sirens.

“Freaking Shotspotter,” Dean grumbled as he watched Sam pull Beth to her feet and they made a break for the hidden Impala.  Everything was packed, there was nothing left at the motel, and that was just the way that they wanted it, as the three jumped in and tore out of town, heading onto the next location, the next hunt.


	19. Sweet Tooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam never thought there could be anything worse than clowns. Beth had her own opinions of crowds as well, but neither of them were prepared for what they found on the boardwalk.

Sweet Tooth

SPN FanFic #19

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

THEN

 

Ten-year-old Sam wasn’t all that impressed with the fact that both fathers had dragged the kids to the carnival in town so that they could keep an eye on them while on the job.  All Sam wanted to know was how long would it take and could he make it out to the car before anything happened to him or Beth. 

Beth held his hand tightly, it seemed that she was more afraid of the carnival than he was but there was only one certain aspect that he couldn’t deal with.  For Beth, the nightmare was all around her. She shook as they made their way through the crowds, but her face was blank of emotions, only the rise and fall of her chest told him just how she was feeling.  

Dean kept looking back as he walked ahead with Serena, his eyes going from Sam’s to Beth’s as he fought the internal need to be beside his brother, and his best friend. He tried his best not to see the fear in Beth’s eyes but he couldn’t help but be completely aware of what was going on with the girl beside his baby brother.  

John and Paul walked on ahead, knowing just where they were going but they had told the kids to have some fun and enjoy themselves.  It wasn’t often that a carnival passed through the small town and it would be a great chance for them to get away from the house. 

Sam tugged on Beth’s hand and he watched as she followed him without a fight when he headed towards the cotton candy stand.  He smiled as her blue eyes lit up, the sight of the spinning pink fluff made the color rush back to her cheeks, but she never released her hold.  Dean stepped up beside him and Sam glanced down at her fingers. He had to pay the man but couldn’t if one hand was already taken. Dean moved closer to Beth, close enough so Serena never noticed that he took Beth’s free hand, and watched as the grip let go on Sam’s.

With the bag of pink candy in hand and the change stuffed back in his pockets, Sam turned to Beth and handed it to her, but she never took it, instead she just smiled and let her fingers slowly slip into his.  Dean didn’t feel relief when she let his go, he just felt a little empty but she looked from his hand to his eyes and gave him what looked like a wink. He was fourteen, ten-year-olds didn’t wink at guys his age, but it made him smile anyway and he moved ahead to Serena, who was waiting impatiently.

“Thank you,” Beth whispered close to Sam’s ear and a smile danced across his lips as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.  

They walked on for what seemed like forever, seeing the same parts of the rides and booths over and over, but that was when it finally happened, just as Sam let down his guard.  It stepped around a corner, right into their path. The big red hair stuck out in every direction, its painted white face gave it the look of death and the fake smile plastered on wasn’t smiling at all, but taunting him.  Its bright rainbow uniform was too big for its little body and the shoes were ten-sizes too large. As it walked towards him, Sam wasn’t sure if it was going to eat him or step on him and for the first time, he wished he had his dad’s .45.

Beth stepped up in front of him, blocking the view of it, and she released his hand for the first time that night, only to place them both against his face.  Her pinkies and ring finger pressed down along his skin from his temple to his jaw and the other three seemed to act as blinders keeping only her face in his sights as she stepped up and stared into his eyes.

He couldn’t see anything else, never knew that the world around him even continued as he locked his gaze on that magnetic blue color.  He could almost hear her whispering, feel the tingle in his mind as she told him to focus on her, that it was just Sam and Beth against the world, that no one else existed. And before she moved away, before this serene little place on Earth disappeared, he heard her heart beat in time with his as she smiled.

Her fingers slid from his face, leaving the wanting feeling of her warmth behind and she gently took his hand in hers, before they once again moved with the crowd.  Dean had paused, his hand in the pocket of his coat, and smiled. Sam was deathly afraid of clowns and while Dean was always the one to protect him, this time it looked as if Beth had everything completely covered.

Dean glanced down at his watched as it beeped and the four of them made their way to the waiting Impala.  Neither father had returned but as Dean and Serena played chase through the endless rows of cars, Sam stayed with Beth on the trunk, looking up at the full moon.

“I hope I never set foot in one of those again,” Beth whispered as she sat up, her hair streaming down her back. Sam looked over from where he lay against the back window, his fingers twirling the ends of her black hair carefully and she turned to stare at him.  “I hate people.”

“But you like me, right?”  He smiled, hoping to ease the uncomfortable feeling that flowed off from her.  

“Of course, Sam, I love you.”  She laughed and moved back on the trunk so she way lying right beside him and he reached down to take her hand.  

“Thank you,” he whispered, still looking at her and Beth turned from her star-gazing to stare into his eyes.

“For what?”  She asked, unaware of her own actions.

“The clown,” he swallowed hard, not sure if he ever wanted to tell anyone about it, but Beth smiled.

“I didn’t see a clown,” she shrugged, the little knowing smile tugged at the corner of her cheek, “I just wanted to touch your face.”

Sam realized what she was saying and he moved his arms so that he could place his hands behind his head, but before he looked back up at the stars, he glanced at her one last time.  

“Thank you for touching my face,” he smiled and watched as she shrugged it off again, both of them staring up at the moon.

 

NOW

 

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

 

Beth shook her head as she looked at the poster that hung in front of the supermarket.  It was an old colored-pencil sketch of a large red and white tent with clowns and animals, people and rides and it scared the hell out of her. It was Sam’s turn for groceries, but she would be damned if she was going inside. Her Bluetooth was in and as she paced the sidewalk of the small plaza, the voice on the other end helped her to stay focused.

“Why the  _ hell _ are we even in Delaware?” She questioned, still grimacing at all of the carnival signs.

_ “Because it was some dumbass’ idea to go a hunting trip,” _ Becca laughed, which got nothing from the raven-haired women,  _ “Where’s Dean?” _

“I don’t know, probably trying to pick up some hussy at a mall bar.” Beth whispered as she moved across the parking lot and sat on the cement fixture that held the street lamp.  “Actually, that’s a good question.”

_ “Well you said Sam was in the grocery store, I would have guessed that you knew where the other brother went.”  _ Beth watched the store for a moment then leaned her head back against the metal post.   _ “What is it, Beth?” _

“Dean’s been kind of distant,” she whispered and glanced around the parking lot.  “We’ve gone from New Jersey to Delaware in two days, but last night, when we stopped at the motel, he wanted to sleep out in the car.”

_ “Maybe he’s just feeling everything coming down on him,” _ Beth reached out to him, felt the tingle of his mind and then nothing.  _ “Is he blocking you too?” _

“Yep, like a vice.”  Beth hopped down and watched as Sam came out of the store, two bags in hand and spotted Beth.  “So back to my original question, why the hell are we in Rehoboth, Delaware?” Sam used his fingers to ask who was on the phone and Beth only rolled her eyes.  “Sam says hello.” Which got her the biggest bitch-face from him. “Becca says hi back.”

_ “I did not!”   _ Becca laughed.   _ “Anyway, so the annual carnival has rolled into town I see.” _

“Yeah, creepy ass clowns and lots of aggravating tourist to get in my way.”  Beth replied, her tone very much stoic, and for a moment she thought Cas might have been rubbing off on her too much.  “Where’s the angel now?”

_ “He’s out doing something for you, mind telling me what you’re sending my boy on missions for?” _ Beth smiled.

“Not a chance in hell, mind telling me what we’re doing here besides racking my nerves?” She could hear Becca giggling on the line.  

_ “Just a precaution actually, last year three people disappeared under mysterious circumstances during the carnival’s main weekend. Their bodies were never recovered.”  _

Beth had taken the phone off from the Bluetooth and put it on speaker soon after she had asked the last time so that Sam could hear what was being said.  It also helped that their motel room was right across the parking lot from the supermarket, so as Sam placed thing on the counter, he was listening to the information. 

“Moral of the story?”  Beth laughed as Sam looked up and smiled at her.

“Stay the hell away from carnivals!”  He answered and placed the six-pack down on the table.  “Where’s Dean?”

Beth shrugged and jumped onto the bed.  “So, we’re here as a ‘just in case’ measure?”

_ “It’s all I got for you, things have been pretty quiet lately.” _ Becca replied. 

“Tell me more about the missing people, there has to be more to the story, even if you have to Wiki it.” Beth turned over and stared at the fan on the ceiling.

_ “Okay, hang on.  You are awful pushy today, maybe that’s why Dean decided to bail.” _  Becca laughed but Beth didn’t respond.  She was thinking about what he might have caught onto the last few days that would send him packing.  _ “Here we go, according to this Supernatural Wiki,” _ and Sam let out a chuckle, while shaking his head,  _ “they have a more descriptive form of just what happened last year…and the year before…wait, this goes back almost to the turn of the century.” _

“Great, first paintings, then necklaces, and now haunted carnivals?”  Beth sighed. “Bec, can you do me one more favor before this funhouse of horror arrives? Trace it.”

_ “What?” _  Becca laughed,  _ “That’s your tech geek’s job, no offense Sam.” _

“None taken, actually it will give me something to do,” he replied and looked over at the bed as he took a seat at the table.

_ “Alright, since you have that covered, I’m going to go out and see how Mary’s doing with that bow and arrow.” _ Becca laughed and the phone went silent.

Beth sat up, planted her feet on the floor and stared at Sam.  “I’m going to find him. Whatever the hell is going on, has gone on long enough.”

“Beth,” Sam whispered as she headed for the door, “maybe it’s better to leave him be for how.”

“Horseshit!”  She snapped and Sam smiled, as he suddenly thought of Bobby, “you two would walk to the ends of the Earth to find me, to make sure I’m alright, so I’m not going to let him stew in his own juices alone. Besides, there’s no way I’m making it through this carnival crap without both of you.”

“Yeah, lucky us.”  Sam sighed. Beth stepped over and kissed him softly on the lips.

“I know it’s not a walk in the park for you either,” she whispered against him and watched as he shrugged.  “Don’t worry, I’ll save your ass.”

“I’m counting on it,” he wiggled his eyebrows and watched as she smiled, and headed out the door.

 

With her hands in her pockets and her hood up to block most of the light rain from the top of her head, she followed the sound of Dean’s heart. He hadn’t realized just how much more connected they had gotten when she didn’t need his mind to find him.  She could tell the difference between Sam and Dean by the way their heart thumped. Sam’s quickened when he was worried, or excited, or even a little upset, but Dean’s was a constant beat, nothing changed except when Beth was involved.

That shot to the shoulder didn’t even make it change, which worried and surprised her but the moment she touched him, the moment her arms were around him, it picked up, still steady but harder, and that’s how she found the Impala, down a back road just on the outskirts of town, probably about four miles from the motel.  The front end was parked watching the waves come up on the shore where Delaware Bay met the ocean, and she could see his arms, hear the music that blasted and vibrated the windows as she drew closer.

His eyes were closed, and he was taking in the sounds when she tapped on the door of the car.  The glass wouldn’t have done her any good because it was already moving but the rapping on his precious paint job certainly caught his attention.

Dean sat up straight, looked at her and she watched the frown cross his face. She was an unwelcomed guest in his little game of hide and seek, but he rolled down the windows anyway.  The blast of an old Foreigner song could be heard for seconds before he turned it down.

“How’d you find me?”  He questioned, his tone was a mix of annoyed and pissed off. Beth scanned over the bottles of “hunter’s courage” that rested on the seat beside him and she looked down into his eyes.  “Don’t give me the Sam bitch-face, Beth, just tell me.”

“You’re drunk,” she whispered and watched as he picked up a bottle, took a swig from it and popped the cap he had been twirling in his fingers back on.  

“That I am.”  Beth pulled up the lock to the door and swung it open, something Dean’s normal reflexes were too slow for.  His seat was back far enough so that he could stretch his legs out without hitting the pedal, or the steering wheel and Beth took it as an opportunity to get answers by straddling his lap, pinning him to the seat.  Dean gave her a sly grin as he raised his hands and watched her close the door. “You shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Why not?”  Beth whispered as she rolled the window back up and turned the dial on the music.  “You came out here to drink, to be alone, my sitting here isn’t going to stop you from doing anything.”

Dean let out a breath as he looked her over, the way that her hair fell in front of her face, the bright silver blue of her eyes when the sun, what little there was, hit them and he let the hands he had been holding up come down onto her thighs. Dean reached for the bottle again, but Beth snapped it up, popped the top and took her own drink before placing it to his mouth.  Dean, not quite coordinated enough to let her help him, grabbed it himself and swallowed.

“What’s going on?”  Her voice was like a melody as it sang in his ear, and Dean closed his eyes ever so slightly before he put the bottle down, resting his hand back on her thigh, moving them slowly up and down from her knees to as far up as he could reach.  “What did I do?”

“What?”  He caught that one and replied in almost an animalistic growl, gripping her waist as he pulled her closer to him, close enough that she fit in the groove the seat made, where his jeans met his waist.  Beth, surprised by the sudden movement, found herself with her hands bracing against the backseat, looking down at him. Dean’s green eyes were full of fury. His fingers dug in, under her shirt, feeling the soft flesh of her sides.  “It’s not you, it’s never you!”

“Then why are you keeping me out?” He watched her face fill with confusion and he shook his head.

“I don’t know how to handle us,” he whispered, as his hand moved from her side to her arm and his fingertips caressed across her neck until they tangled into her hair. Beth let her locked elbows loosen and felt Dean pulling her closer, his breath against her skin, even with the whiskey bite to it, made her heart race.  “I don’t know how to handle me, Beth, not you.” 

“That’s easy,” he gave a small moan as she licked her lips, “just like this.”

The first kiss was a soft, and with it came a noise that Dean had never made before, not with Beth, something between want and need.  She felt his hand move, the one that had gripped her thigh was now on the curve of her back pulling her closer as she moved hers down to caress his face.  

“This isn’t helping,” he barely whispered as his forehead touched hers, his lips against her warmth.  “I need you so bad that it hurts.”

“Everything hurts, Dean, it’s how we know we’re alive.” 

He was suddenly so very animated, and she felt him tug off her jacket, as his lips pressed against hers. Beth tried to hold on, tried to make any sense of what she was letting Dean do, but in the end, she let go, giving into his lips on her neck, the feeling of his hands on her bare skin under her shirt and the little noises that she didn’t realize were escaping her, not him.

He pulled her shirt from over her head and released it onto the seat beside her.  The cold air against her skin, no matter the heat that flowed through the car, wasn’t enough to keep the shiver from her as she stripped Dean down to just his jeans.  He pulled her against him, trying to create the warmth she needed as Beth traced the tattoo on his chest. 

Dean pulled away as she did so, and swallowed hard.  Her fingertips gently ran over his skin as his own found the birthmark on her back.  She watched his lips part as he remembered the first time he touched it. Releasing a shaking breath, Dean moved her so she was laying with her back against the cool interior, towering over her. His hand ran the span of her skin until he hit the roughness of her jeans where he paused for only a second before moving down to place his fingers under her knee. With a small grin, he grasped her and pulled her leg in tight to his body.  Beth locked her foot between his legs and watched as he came down towards her once again.

A new flame ignited and Beth let his lips trail down her neck, and over her chest, but the shirts were the only thing removed even as he kissed down to her navel, giving pause at the edge of her jeans before he came back up and captured her lips.

This seemed to go on forever, a make-out session with no end, but when he was finally breathless and as sated as he could be, Dean kissed her softly as she closed her eyes, then moved down to leave a trail along her chin, until he was able to rest his head against her chest, flesh to flesh and listen to her heart thump wildly.

“This is one way to handle it,” he whispered, thinking she had fallen asleep, but her fingers tracked the back of his neck, along his hairline and down, making Dean shiver and her only response was a satisfied sigh.  “Now to explain to Sammy.” Beth giggled a little and watched as Dean picked up his head, resting his chin against her sternum. “Let me guess, he already knows?”

Beth’s smile made his heart melt as she rolled her eyes and looked up at the foggy window.  Dean, not deterred by the mention of his brother, reached down and grasped her shirt. Beth was quiet as he helped her dress, slipping the coat over her shoulders as he tried to find his own in the mess that was left on the floor.

Once they were in some resemblance of clothed and ready to go, Dean started the car and put it in reverse, but Beth placed a hand gently on his arm.

“You can’t let it get to this point again, Dean.”  He reached out and took her hand in his. “The drinking, I mean not… that.”

“Not what? Us?”  He grinned and kissed her fingers.  “I kind of liked that part.”

“But, you don’t need to block me out to get me to find you, all you have to do is tell me.”  Beth watched the expression on his face, the same one he always had when she brought up feelings.

“I’m just not good at that, Bee, not good at letting people in,” he paused and reached out, caressing her cheek with the back of her hand.  “Especially when it comes to you.”

“So, I come find you and we play this game,” for a minute he thought she was mad, but when she turned back with a grin, he was pleasantly surprised. “I like this game. Next time don’t park so far away.”

 

Dean pulled up in front of the motel room, cut the engine and sat for a minute as Beth pulled her hair back in a ponytail.

“Get out, Dean, he’s not going to bite you,” Beth smiled and shook her head, collecting the empty whiskey bottles on the floor.

“That doesn’t mean he’s not going to deck me,” the older brother replied as he looked her over before letting go of the steering wheel.  Beth laughed, a soft one that made his insides tingle, and she opened the door before leaning over, giving him a great shot right down the front of her shirt.  “Or that I shouldn’t be kicking myself.”

“Stop it! Right now Dean Winchester, stop making yourself feel guilty,” she sighed and stood, backing away from the car.  “Be the badass I know you are and move that tight tush into the building before you pass out from drinking.”

“I’m not drunk on whiskey anymore,” he whispered softly and watched her walk away as the door closed behind her.  With a sigh, he ran his hands through his hair. “I am… so screwed!”

 

Dean opened the door slowly and looked inside.  The three lights that illuminated the dark interior were all he had to go by when he noticed his brother sitting at the table.  Sam didn’t look up, he just grinned as he continued to type, but Dean, after placing his coat over the edge of the chair, stood there and stared until Sam glanced up over the edge of the laptop.

“Better?”  Was all the younger one questioned as the shower in the bathroom sprayed on.

“If I were you, I’d be kicking my ass,” Dean replied and stumbled to the bed.

“Looks like you’ve done enough of that to yourself,” Sam turned in the chair and stared him down as Dean leaned forward, his elbows to his knees, but his eyes locked on his brothers.  “You can’t run away from this, Dean, I don’t understand why you try.”

“How can you be so passive aggressive about her?  Hell, I know I’ve said it a dozen time but man, one swing would make me feel so much better.”  Dean exhaled, trying to let the feelings Beth was sending him take over. Dean rubbed his eyes and sat up straight. “Just one swing, Sam.”

“I’m not going to hit you.”  He laughed.

“Why?” Dean felt like screaming. “She’s beautiful, and kickass, and everything you need in your life, why aren’t you going to fight for that?”

“Because I’m not fighting my brother for something he needs too,” Sam answered, moving so that he stood in front of him and Dean looked up.  “Think of all the evil things we’ve done, Dean. Demons, Angels, Leviathan! Christ, we’ve been to hell and back so many times that I’ve lost count and I know that we’re still battling something greater than that, but we’ve been given a light at the end.  Not just me, Dean, both of us. Our first love, and I know she was yours too, so don’t even try to hide it, we’ve been given a second chance with her.”

“And every time we get to that point in our lives, Sam, where things look like they are about to go up, we get kicked in the balls and sent straight back to our knees,” Dean added but Sam’s smile never left his face.

“She’s a hunter, like us.”

“And you think that makes her any safer?”  Dean interrupted. “Look at Jo and Ellen, they were hunters too,”

“That survived fifteen years on their own?”  Dean gave pause and knew that Sam was not going to give up, he laid back on the bed and closed his eyes.  “That whiskey getting to you?”

“Hunter’s courage, Sammy!”  Dean yelled as he heard his brother walk away, but Dean didn’t want anything else but the curl up with his pillow. 

Sam watched him relax as the bathroom door opened and Beth stepped out, dressed in her usual tank and jeans. It wasn’t warm outside but the heat coming off the two men in the room made her feel like she was at a southern resort.  She dropped the clothing beside the door, as always, and walked over to where Sam sat, glancing at the bed as she walked by, at Dean’s sleeping face.

“It really got him this time, huh?”  Sam asked, looking up at her as she moved to stand between his legs.

“Yeah, more than usual,” she turned her head to the man on the bed.  “The nightmares didn’t help either, I’m sure.”

“I don’t want to stick around for this carnival thing, but Becca was right, something is going on.”  Beth let him pull her down to sit on his leg as the two of them looked at his computer screen. With one hand around her waist, the other flew over the tabs and she watched as the events of years gone by captured her attention.

She took a deep breath in, “wow!”

“Yeah, it keeps getting better,” Sam went back further into a site where the periodicals were scanned in and watched as Beth leaned closer to the screen. “This year is the centennial for the carnival.”

“Why did they keep going with it if it started out so bad?”  Beth’s questioned was just as whisper as she pulled the computer closer.  “1917,  **Mysterious Deaths Plague First Annual Carnival:**

“Rehoboth Beach’s first annual carnival, held on the day the town was founded in 1873 was meant to be a celebration but instead turned into a day of mourning as one of the larger of the Ferris wheels overturned and three people died.  The cause is yet unknown as to why the wheel malfunctioned but authorities believed that the placement on the uneven boardwalk had compromised the machine.”

“And now you know why I don’t get on Carnie rides.”  Sam mumbled and Beth slapped him gently on the chest before continuing.

“The victims of this horrible tragedy, ages four, twenty-one and fifty-two were all taken to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced dead.  The families ask for prayer in this time of grieving. If you would like more information on the families,” Beth read on, “blah, blah, blah…there is nothing here to say who these people were.”  Beth scrolled silently and shook her head. “All the same thing, a ride fails, something goes wacky, three people die, all on the boardwalk.”

Sam scooted her over, it was something he hadn’t put together, the pattern. “On the same place on the boardwalk?”  Beth watched as he saved as many pictures as he could, slipped them all into a slideshow and the two of them watched as it went by.

“Wait,” Beth whispered, as Sam paused the slide.  “That store, it’s in every photo.”

“So, it is the same placement of the rides.”

“Yeah, but that’s not what I’m looking at,” Beth got up and walked over to the bed, she leaned down and whispered into Dean’s ear.  “Hey, sleepy, we’re taking the car.” Dean grumbled a “you better not crash it” through his alcohol induced sleep and Beth smiled, messing up his hair before she turned back to Sam.  “Come on, let’s go for a ride before the crowd gets too big and the clowns come out.”

The face he gave her was priceless and she knew he didn’t want anything to do with this whole thing, but as she tied her boots, Sam slipped on his and his coat before grabbing the keys from Dean’s jacket and left a note, just in case the ass woke up from his stupor.

 

Sam pulled the car into the almost empty lot and looked around. He watched as Beth’s face went white, even with the small amount of people that hung out at the boardwalk and he took her hand. She glanced at him, took the camera from the floor and watched as he rolled his eyes.

“Come on, you are not getting any answer from anyone if you look like a hunter and not some damned tourist, so suck it up, Buttercup, and let’s take some pictures.”  She laughed and got out of the car. 

 

Sam hated having his picture taken as much as he hated clowns but for her he would do anything and that began their afternoon.  He grabbed the keys and closed the door, locking it behind him as they took their time making their way down the mile long walkway.  Beth snapped pictures of Sam, who would in turn, steal the camera and snap pictures of her, but it was the way that he looked at the beach that made her smile the most.

He put one foot on the railing, having his forearms resting on the smooth top of the waist high barrier and he just stared out over the ocean.  She snapped away, before she hopped up beside him and captured multiple ones of the passer-bys. It was then, out of the blue, that a man walked up to them with a smile and asked if they would like a couple of them together.

Beth only smiled as Sam agreed and handed him the camera.  Three times that flash went off, and each was followed by a “how does that look” from the man.  Beth loved them all but he insisted “one more just in case it’s blurry”. They thanked him and watched as he walked off towards the part that was blocked off for the rides, ones that were still being assembled and that was when she saw it.

“Hey, check that out,” she whispered and looked at the man who stood outside his store, arms crossed and angry as they put together some sort of booth not ten feet from the opening.  “That’s our store.” 

“Well, let’s go get “touristie”,” Sam laughed, using her own words and the two of them, hand in hand, walked down the length of walk, stopping for only a few seconds before finding the one shop they had been looking for.  Sam all but giggle at the sign. “Samuel’s Sweet Shoppe?”

“Look at that, Sammy, you’ve got your own store,” Beth grinned, looked around, noticing how the booths and rides would hide it and whispered, “and, we’ve got motive.”

The man that had been standing out front was now behind the counter, restocking the already over stocked shelves as the bell above the door chimed.  Beth looked up, catching the feel of the place and she watched Sam’s eyes grow wide. 

“Wow, this has got to be the biggest candy store I’ve ever seen.” He seemed to marvel at the displays. She cocked her head, listened to the strange tone of his voice and the way he dropped her hand as he headed into the maze of jars and plastic containers.  

Beth said hello to the man behind the counter, who was happy just to see Sam as giddy as a child but that smile faded when he turned to Beth, he tried to fake it the best he could but she could see the glimmer of something in his eyes. Her eyes were wide with wonder, as her ears picked up on the small sound of a buzz, like something electrical and her sights wandered to the lights, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from.

“Welcome to Samuel’s Sweet Shoppe, best candy in the world and largest candy counter!”  He boasted but he just couldn’t sell it to her. Beth found packages of things that she thought she wouldn’t ever see again as she heard the oohs from Sam. “Is there something that you’re looking for? A favorite kind of candy that you like?”

“This one loves all kinds of candy, especially gummy anything,” Beth laughed, watching Sam go over the different kind of worms and strings they offered.

“Well, he’s in the right place, we have everything you can possibly imagine.”  Beth walked up to the counter and looked at the fudge. “It’s all homemade.”

“It looks delicious,” but Beth blinked back the sudden emotions that filled her, as if she were regressing to that ten-year-old.  She looked up at the man. “Do you mind if I take pictures? Sam and I are on our honeymoon and I know he would love to remember this place even after the candy is gone.”

The man hesitated but gave her a smile and nodded.  Beth began to snap away at the endless rows. 

“Honeymoon, you say?”  He asked as he stepped up next to her and Beth smiled.  

“Yeah, we’ve been doing a tour around the lower states, never been out of New England, so we heard about this place and had to check it out.”  She continued the banter as Sam started bagging things up. “Him and his sweet tooth.” Beth watched the man lock his eyes on Sam. “So, are you Samuel?”

“No, that was my great-great grandfather.  He opened the store in 1915, just before these blasted carnivals started coming around.”  She listened to him grit his teeth, but he pointed to the picture behind the counter. “There’s the man right there.”

Beth lifted the camera, “do you mind?”

“Not at all,” but she knew he did.  He didn’t want her in the store, she wasn’t responding the way he needed and that raised a flag in her book, but she did her best to be cheerful and continued to snap away.  She even got a few of the man himself, and that picture.

“I see they set up in front of you, I’m sorry for that,” Beth said apologetically and he nodded.  “We’ll definitely pass on where you are located to people we happen to see, especially the hotel. I’m sure we can get people to stop by.”   _ Not a chance in hell. _ Beth’s mind whispered, and she listened to Sam giggle towards the back of the shop.  “He’ll be on a sugar high for the rest of the week.”

“You haven’t picked out anything,” the man smiled, “wouldn’t you like something sweet.”

Beth improvised and placed a hand on her stomach, “sweets and I haven’t really gotten along in the last two months.” And she seemed to watch a strange understanding come to his face. “But I would love some fudge, just in case.”

This made his eyes beam with life as he stepped behind the counter and boxed her up some milk chocolate fudge.  “Congratulations, on both happy events in your life. I’m sure the fudge won’t hurt the baby, but please try to eat healthy.”

“I don’t think this little one will let me eat any other way,” she smiled as she took the box, “honey, are you done or do you plan to buy the whole store?”

Sam looked up from the back, and she noticed the three large, full bags in his hand as he came almost running towards the front.  Beth put the fudge and the candy on the counter and watched the man bag it up before Sam reached for his wallet and paid for all the sugar he had just picked out. With a grin and a wave, like a pre-teen who was already hopped up on something, Sam followed Beth out of the store.

Not five feet from the building, Sam stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her.  “What the hell was that?”

“That was you under the spell of something major,” she whispered as she lovingly took his arm and hand and continued the walk passed the canopies.

“And you didn’t feel it?”  He questioned, watching as she shook her head.

“No, but I did get a lot of pictures,” she smiled up, glancing at the man who was now standing just outside the Shoppe’s door.  “Just keep walking as if we are the happiest couple on our honeymoon.”

“We are!”  He laughed and leaned down, kissing her softly as he grabbed a string of some red licorice out of the bag and popped it in his mouth, but he stopped briefly and looked at her. “Did you seriously tell him you were pregnant?”

“I couldn’t just  _ NOT _ buy something, there had to be a reason why I wasn’t interested in the sugar rush like you were.”  She exclaimed and watched as his eyes grew wide. “What?”

“Can you be?”  He questioned quietly and watched the way her cheeks turned red.  

“You really want to try that while we’re chasing Greek Gods?”  And she knew it would be a buzzkill but she needed him to see the bigger picture.  His smile didn’t fade though, which she thought was odd, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“I can’t wait for the day we stop,” he mumbled against her hair and Beth let out a sigh.  She decided that there wasn’t much more to say on the subject but she let him chatter on about something as they made their way down and then back to the car.

 

Beth was sitting at the computer, the SD card in the drive on the laptop flipping through pictures as Sam sat on the edge of the bed, giggling at the stupid show on the television while he continued to down the candy from the store.

Dean moaned at the noise and slowly sat up, looked at his brother than over at Beth, who just pointed to the hot coffee steaming in the mug beside her.  Dean groaned as he got up, his eyes furrowed in total confusion as he stared at Sam while he moved over, took the coffee and glanced at Beth.

“What’s wrong with him?”  Dean mumbled, placing the cup to his lips.

“He’s under a Greek spell,” she answered nonchalantly and Dean almost choked on the hot liquid, but Beth looked up, “don’t worry, it will wear off as soon as he stops eating.”  She rolled her eyes and looked over at the man with the unruly hair. “Sam! Put the damned candy down!” but Sam just waved her off and she shrugged before she looked back at Dean, “if he offers you some, just be nice and say no.”

“A Greek spell?”  Dean questioned, still not believing, “I pass out for what…three hours and you get Sam locked into a spell?”

“We went to a candy store,” Beth shrugged, going back to her pictures.  “I know it’s Greek because it didn’t affect me at all, but that one…he acted like he was ten again, like the time that Dad brought us to Chutter’s in New Hampshire.”

“Oh my God, I love that place!”  Sam spoke up and Beth stared at Dean, who rolled his eyes as if he finally got it. 

“So, you got out of being Candy Mojo-ed because of the whole North Wind stuff?”  Dean questioned, knowing there was no way the coffee was going to be strong enough for this shit.

“She told him she was pregnant,” Sam added and Dean’s eyebrows went up, not in surprise but at the lie.

“Is it his or mine?” Dean laughed, which caused Beth to throw a shoe towards him, missing by inches and Dean grin widened.

“Ours!”  Sam laughed, “all three!”

“This sugar has some serious kick to it,” Dean smiled and watched his brother’s knees bounce.  “How much has he eaten?”

“He’s on his second bag,” Beth shrugged and showed him the hidden third one.

“Jesus Christ.” 

“Yeah.” She went back to the photos and finally made it to the ones in the store. “Huh,” she whispered, which drew Dean’s attention away from his younger brother and made him slide his chair over to her side of the table.  He couldn’t see what she was looking at but he knew it must be important. “Yep, this place says Greek God all over it.”

“A candy store... run by a God?”  Dean sat back and shook his head as she turned to him confused.

“He says I’m pregnant by both of you and you don’t bat an eye, but I say Greek God candy store and you’re questioning that?”  Beth shook her head as Dean just shrugged which made her growl in frustration, a noise that stirred every emotion in Dean as she went back to the picture, enlarging it on the screen. “See this symbol?”

“It’s a stick!”  Dean announced and Beth rubbed her eyes.

“It’s ambrosia,” she whispered and watched as he nodded. She knew he was playing her, the green eyed man knew more about the world behind the vale than anyone she had come across save for Sam, and he was well read in it too. “The wine-cup, the ivy vines, bees, the honey pots, it all points to one thing.”  She watched as he focused in on something in the picture. 

“The Nectar of the Gods.”  Dean whispered. She smiled, knowing she was right and had caught his attention.  “What does that have to do with candy?”

“Most candy was made from something simple like sugar, but in Greek mythology, the nectar is honey.” Both of them craned their necks to see what Sam was eating.  “Everything in that store is made from honey, not cane sugar. It’s why he was so pissed that they set up in front of him every year.”

“Who, the old guy?”  Dean laughed and watched as Beth turned back to the screen, skipping to the picture of the man who ran it and the way his eyes were trained on Sam.  “Well, that’s not the least bit upsetting.”

“Check out the way he’s looking at Sam, not like he’s going to snatch and keep, but like he’s going to eat him.”  Beth shook her head. “It makes me wonder something.”

“If this guy is the Big Bad Wolf and Sammy just became Little Red Riding Hunter?” Dean was definitely starting to come out of his funk.

“Close,” Beth opened the tab with all the different newspaper entries in it and scanned through them again.  “Every year something happens on that same stretch of the boardwalk and every year three people die.”

“And they don’t find this weird at all?”

“Apparently, three out of a couple hundred thousand that descend on it in a four day period isn’t a bad thing, but, here’s the catch…” she brought up the pictures of Samuel’s Sweet Shoppe.  “This is the Shoppe back when it first happened, the picture shows the original owner back in 1915 when it opened.”

“So,”

“So…” she repeated and flipped to the picture of the man staring at Sam, “this is our current owner.”

“Why the hell does everyone look like their old, dead relatives?”  Dean sat back and looked over at Sam. “Damn it, Sam, you’re going to puke, put that crap down!” But there was nothing either could say to stop him from eating, and Dean glanced at Beth, smiling.  “You think you could take that sugar away from your Baby Daddy for five minutes.”

“Screw you, Dean!”  She stated and watched him grin as he placed his hand on her stomach, a gesture she slapped at.

“Apparently, that was already done.”  She rarely heard him laugh but when he gave out a little chuckle she couldn’t help the smile.

“Back on the subject!”  Beth finally grabbed his wrist and tossed his hand away. “While all of little clues point to the nectar, it doesn’t tell me which God we’re playing with.”

“There can be more than one?”  Dean sat closer to the screen as she pulled up another page, but both turned as Sam gave out a low, and unmistakably disappointed groan. “Sam, cut the crap!” 

Beth smiled, and shook her head.  It was the exact tone he used with him when they were younger and Sam became relentless with trying to annoy Beth.  Sam slid down to the floor and looked at the empty bag in his hands, before looking up at them with a pout.

“Beth,” he whined, “my stomach hurts.”

Dean stood up, ever the big brother and pulled Sam back onto the bed.  He turned the man so he lay on his left side and gave him the empty trash bucket.

“This is what you get when you eat too much junk!”  Dean scolded which made him stop for a second and turn towards Beth, pointing a finger, “you just shut your mouth.” Her mouth dropped as he spoke to her, but she watched as he tucked the blanket up the best he could and whispered to his baby brother.  “If you need to yak, the bucket’s right here, but you did this to yourself.”

“Dean,” Beth smiled, and watched him make his way over, still listening to the bellyaching of the man on the bed.  He slid back in the seat beside her and gave her a grin that only meant one thing, he liked being back in charge. “Really, stop bullying your brother!”

“I wasn’t bullying him,” Dean’s lips turned up a little, “I was schooling him with tough love.”

“Okay, whatever,” she turned back to the computer.

“Why can’t we just run in and gank the son of a bitch, have it done and get out of here?”  

“Because besides tempting kids and a thirty-five year old moose with candy, it hasn’t done anything to show us that it’s a monster,” Beth turned in her seat, her knees touching his thigh as he placed a hand on hers and she looked into his eyes.  “It hasn’t killed anyone. We don’t even know which one it is and we can’t link anything but a dirty look and some pissed off vibes to the accidents that been happening on the boardwalk for the past century.” She watched the look in his eyes and sat back. “You just want to kill something.”

“Damn right,” Dean said sternly and got up.  “The road trip has been great but we’re not getting any closer to the truth about you, the book, or the jackass who is after us.  I do want to kill something, I want to maim it, rip it apart and drill a new hole in its skull.”

“Hmm, angry much?”  She raised an eyebrow as he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet as he wrapped his arms around her waist.  “Just because he’s unconscious in a sugar coma, doesn’t mean you get to do what you want.”

“I wasn’t going to do anything,” Dean sighed and his arms tightened on her, pulling her in for a genuine hug as he placed his head against her shoulder, his nose to her neck.  “I just wanted this.”

Beth took a deep breath, got up on her tiptoes and hugged him tightly, closing her eyes as he held her.  Dean straightened the best he could, his hand tussled in her hair as she lay her head against his chest and he just breathed.  His dreams had been bad recently, without the help of the necklace from New Jersey, and his fear had gotten the best of him that morning, but just the feel of her in his arms calmed the anxiety in his heart.

“What time is it?” He whispered and felt her laugh.  

“My face is buried in a t-shirt, why the hell are you asking me?”  Beth replied and nestled her face in closer to his chest. Dean walked backwards, taking the woman with him.  She followed on blind faith alone and almost screamed when he let her crash down on the bed. Beth scooted up the bed, grabbing one of the pillows as Dean took the remote from Sam and got comfortable beside her, one arm tucked under her neck as her back pressed against his side.  “This is what we get for traveling all night! Four freaking o’clock and I need a nap.”

“So sleep,” Dean said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek, whispering softly into her ear, “I’ll watch over you and Sammy.”

Beth giggled but felt her eyes accept his invitation and slowly close as some old movie began to play on the television.  She felt him shift on the bed as the remote dropped beside her, his body formed to hers and his arm draped loosely over her waist, just like it had always done, but she knew he wouldn’t sleep, not after making that promise.

 

She could hear the ticking of the clock, the tapping of the keys, and the click that she recognized with the assembly of every piece of the gun.  Her eyes fought to open and she could tell the warm body she had fallen asleep beside was gone, as was the weight across her stomach. She could focus enough to see that the bed next to her was empty and that it was dark out, since two of the three lamps in the room were lit up.  

As her eyes adjusted, she watched Sam scowl at the computer screen, his fingers flying over the keyboard while Dean sat across from him, cleaning and assembling not only his gun, but also Beth’s and Sam’s. They were the world’s best team and its most dangerous duo, but when she looked at them all she wanted to do was smile because they were hers.  

Dean had a new cup of coffee in front of him, Sam had two, probably to counter the sugar affects that the world’s biggest candy binge had given him, but there was also a half-eaten sandwich, which meant that Dean had gone to the store and was sitting there not just to maintain the guns but to make sure that Sam ate. 

“Are you sure she said it was a guy?”  Sam questioned, as if he had asked several times already.  Dean who was sitting with his elbows to his knees, looked up at him, arms opened in “what the hell” gesture and stared.

“She said he was a dude, the pictures say he’s a dude, Sam, it was a dude!”  Dean replied in an annoyed voice and casually went back to cleaning out the barrel. “I don’t know why you’re arguing it, clearly it was a guy!”

“But, I’m telling you, it was a woman.”  Sam said shaking his head as he tabbed several more times before Dean sat back.

“You know what would settle this?”  He snapped and Sam looked up at him, a blank expression on his face.  “Going down there and shooting the he/she in the face, that would put an end to any debate!”

“Knock it off!” Beth scolded as she lay flat on the bed, and both boys looked over at her.  “No one is going anywhere near that boardwalk until we figure out what the hell it is!”

“Well, you know, with the whole gender equality and everything,” Dean said sarcastically but in a completely normal voice, “it’s not like we can just ask!”

“Beth, I swear it was a woman,” Sam sighed and put his thumb and pointer against his face. He was trying to grasp why he couldn’t figure it out, but slowly Beth turned and looked at them once again.  

“It’s because that was who it wanted you to see,” she mumbled, but her tone was all he needed to hear because along with that “Holy shit, I’ve got it” tone in her voice usually came answers.  “Honestly, when you picture a Sweet Shoppe, candy store, or ice cream place, who do you see working behind the counter.”

“Some hot chick in a low cut top so I can watch her through the glass,” Dean smiled looking down at the two pieces he was sliding together and with a click he looked up to see their faces, both giving him the same expression.  “What, you have your fantasies, I have mine. Don’t judge me.”

Beth’s face was full of a “you’re such an ass” look, which was focused primarily on Dean but she kept his eyes locked on her as she asked the other one. “Sam?” but the man stumbled with the question.  “Without thinking.”

“Cinderella, with the dress and the apron,” Sam replied quickly and Dean turned to him in shock.  

“Cartoons, Sammy?” Dean had his usual “give me a break look” which only told Sam he had managed to shock his brother, “was that how she looked in the store?”

“Well, kind of…” his eyes moved in Beth’s direction, “but she was older, sixty maybe, and she kept smiling at me.”

“You were on candy drugs, Sam, of course she was smiling at you.” Dean chuckled and Beth threw the second pillow, this time it bounced off his head and Dean looked up.  “What if this was loaded?”

“Is it ever?”  Beth said sarcastically referring to one thing as Dean referred to the gun, but the sudden stoic face he wore told her that he understood perfectly.  “Okay, so mine is the classic “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” guy, the one that tells him to go home with the golden ticket.” Beth sat up on the edge of the bed and watched their faces. “When we get home, I’m buying a library of books and  _ GOOD _ classic movies!”

“We’ve seen that one,” Sam answered and glanced at Dean, “at your house actually.”

“Oh good, so I don’t have to explain,” she took a deep breath, placing both hands on the bed beside her.  “So, Sam, if you open the drive, you’ll be able to see what I caught, but I’m not trying to say you’re wrong.”

“Is there a point to this?”  Dean asked as he slipped the mag into the Colt and Beth growled.

“Are you looking for an ass kicking?”  She questioned as Sam smiled, but Dean just gave his sly grin and placed the gun down on the table. “Right, moving on.” She watched Sam flip through the pictures, his eyes moving towards the symbols on the wall. “The Gods don’t need to have just one form.  In order to get what they want, they can change in the minds of each person to project what they need to get the job done. It’s all through Greek Mythology. Zeus never had a “true form” to most people, which is why there were so many demigods.”

“So we’re only dealing with one God, but which one?”  Sam’s words were soft as he contemplated everything he was seeing in the pictures. “Hebe…” he looked up at Beth, the smile that crossed her face.

“He/she?”  Dean chimed in, “see, we should have just gone with my plan in the first place.”

“No, Hebe, Goddess of youth and cupbearer to the Gods,” Sam replied, reading the information that Beth had also stored on the drive.  “But, if you already knew it, why not go for it?”

“You were under a spell, Sam, I’m not going to go full assault with you trapped if I don’t know if you’re going to come out of it.”  She stated plainly and watched as he nodded. “So Hebe has a bone to pick with the other Gods, but she also has a job to do. On one hand, she’s the one that grants them eternal youth by any means, which is where the candy store comes in.”

“Sacrifices,” Dean whispered.

“But not just any sacrifice, they have to have the ambrosia in their veins,” she got up and moved to sit on the dresser so she was closer to them.  “This stuff is the only thing that they Gods ate, ambrosia and nectar, so, it’s the only thing that Hebe knows how to serve and what better way to do it than hype some poor bastard up on sugar and let fate take them right to Olympus, courtesy of a one way coroner’s trip.”

“She’s causing the accidents?”

“No, that’s just human stupidity, they just happen to be at the right place at the right time.”  Sam added. “Okay, say Hebe is behind this, how do we kill her?”

“Same as any other Olympian I guess, but I think there’s a sign in the way her shop is set up.  Click to the pictures of the edging.” Beth looked over as he zoomed in on the wine-cup, honey jar and bees. “Did you see any of that in the store?”

“I think I would have noticed a hive.”  Sam smiled sarcastically.

“Everything in that store is made of honey, so where does it come from, and it can’t be bottled, because it could come from anywhere, it has to be local.” Beth closed her eyes and thought back to the store before it hit her.  “They’re in the basement.”

“Excuse me?”  Dean seemed to stop and catch his breath.  That one statement seemed to terrify him.

“The bees, I think they’re in the basement, or under the boardwalk,” she hopped down and went over to the laptop, which Sam let her have as she scooted between his legs and typed while she stood.  His eyes traveled over her and Dean kicked him under the table, breaking whatever spell he was under. Beth, who acted none the wiser only grinned a little as she turned the laptop and pushed it back so all three could see.  “This picture is of the Ferris Wheel that came down.”

Laying on its side, half off from the wooden walkway, was an old-fashioned wheel that the photographer had skillfully managed to capture just as people were scrabbling away from it.  Dean looked closer, trying to see what it was she was explaining and then he sat back. Sam, who thought he couldn’t get the angle right turned the computer towards him and stared.

“They knocked it over?” Sam whispered and Dean’s face filled with curiosity.

“How do you get thousands of bees to knock over a giant Ferris wheel?”  

“Easy, you command them,” Beth shrugged and turned to get thing out of her drawers.  “Bees are workers, they stay in their hives unless instructed to do so…”

“By their Queen,” Dean whispered, “which means…”

“Hebe is in control of them.”  Sam shook his head. “Well, this one is definitely going to be one for the books.  I don’t think we’ve battled bees before.”

“And if we do it right, we won’t have too.” Beth watched as she grabbed her gun from the table and tucked it in her jeans.  “Listen, the two of you can’t go in there, it’s how she gets people to eat the candy. She makes you her workers, that’s why Sam couldn’t resist the sweets.  He wasn’t under a “let’s get sugar high” spell, he was under one that made him collect, so that he can return to the hive later on and be sacrificed.”

“You aren’t going alone,” Dean stood and put himself between her and the rest of her equipment. 

“I didn’t say I was going alone, I just said you can’t go in there, not underneath it.”  She smiled and watched as he turned to Sam, wishing he hadn’t opened his mouth. “If the bees are active, then there’s nothing we can do to stop them from attacking, but if they’re docile, we’re golden.”

“So what are you going to do?”  Sam sat forward placing his arms on the table as Beth snatched the Impala keys.

“I’m going shopping.” She grabbed her coat and headed towards the door as Sam moved up beside her.  “I’m not going to get hurt, Sam, just going to buy a bee smoker.”

“A what?”  Dean turned in the chair and watched her face light up.  

“Google it, I have to hit the hardware store before it closes,” and with that she was out the door before both boys could blink.

Sam sat down at the computer and pulled up the information on the bee smoker, not that he didn’t know what it was, and when he showed it to Dean, the man’s only reaction was to shake his head.

“How the hell does she know so much?”  The older brother questioned.

“Fifteen years of Do It Yourself jobs?”  Sam shrugged. “She amazes me. I thought I knew a lot but man, she can pull stuff out of the air.”

“Or out of her ass and just roll with it,” Dean laughed, getting up from the chair.  Sam watched as his brother moved over to his bed and began loading up on the things he need.

“Hey, do you think they knew?”  Sam questioned, and Dean peeked over at him as he looped his belt through his jeans.

“Who?”

“Her father and her grandfather?  About the Olympians, I mean.” Dean turned and sat down, pulling on a boot. 

“How would they?”

“Think about it, Dean, she’s deep into this mythology,” Sam gestured to the computer.  “It doesn’t take her long to pull up anything on any God and that’s if it’s not in her book.  She’s part of the mythology herself, I mean a North Wind, that had to have sparked something in them, and her grandfather’s house, that was so full of it.  His den, the paintings. I think they knew.”

“So what if they did,” Dean growled angrily, as if the thought of them putting her in harm’s way just hit every nerve.  “She’s better for it. She thinks on a dime, she a damned good shot and she can fight like hell. It’s what’s kept her alive.”

“But what if it’s made her more of a target?”

“You have to think positive, Sammy,” Dean answered and looked up at his brother.  “She’s not going to let this thing beat her, and neither are we!”

“I want to do it after this is done,” Sam watched as Dean’s eyes smiled.  “For real this time, cake and all.”

“I was hoping you would, because I didn’t want to have to kick your ass into it.”  Dean smiled.

“One thing though,” Sam paused, glanced out the window and turned back to him, “you have to do it too.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little weird?”  

Sam gave one good laugh and smiled widely before licking his lips. “After all we’ve been through, do you think I care?”

“Good point,” Dean laughed as the door opened and Beth walked in with several bags in hand.  “What the hell, woman, did you buy the whole store?”

“Yeah,” she said sarcastically, “and I used your credit card!” Sam laughed at the look on Dean’s face as she dropped the bags.

 

Sam and Dean watched as she assembled the smokers quickly, as if she had done it before, but when she started stuffing them with different material before she grabbed a paper bag out of the other plastic ones.  This one was plainly from a different store and Dean walked over to see what it was.

“Torchwood,” Beth spoke without looking up and she placed some in the smoker before closing them all up.  “Two for each of you.” Her eyes scanned over Sam and Dean. “Think about it like a gun, going in blazing. It will calm them down and keep you from getting stung long enough for me to get the lowdown on our rogue Goddess.”

“Are you going to kill her?” Dean laughed as Beth stood and stopped right in front of him.

“What is it with you and killing?  God, you’re so mean!” She said flamboyantly and headed off towards the bathroom, which made Sam laugh and Dean just stood there, confused.

“Monster, Beth!”  He replied and watched as she stuck her finger out the door. “Damn it, woman, don’t make me come in there.”  Dean turned back to his brother. “Why does she have to tease me like that?”

“Because she knows she’ll get a response from you,” Sam answered as he stood, stretched and moved towards his own effects, grabbing his gun off the table.  It was getting late and they needed to get moving.

 

Dean parked the Impala close enough to the boardwalk that the trip to the Sweet Shoppe shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and they needed that short amount of time to make a get-away if needed but as he cut the engine, he looked back in the rearview as Beth scanned the crowds.  

How was she going to do it?  She had never liked them to begin with and watching her over the last year had only told him more about her; especially that the crowd thing had become a phobia.  He thought back to that carnival in Carthage, the one where he took her hand in his because she was so afraid to let go of Sam. He hoped it wasn’t like that for her this time but he couldn’t shake the vibes that flowed from her.

“Hey, Kid,” he whispered and watched as she looked up at him, her blue eyes locking on his green through the mirror, “you gonna be okay?”

“Let’s rock and roll.”  She spoke up, her voice steady even if her heart was racing and he watched her slip out of the car.  

Before getting out, Dean put his hand on Sam’s arm and looked him dead in the eyes.  “You stay with her, I’ll get the bees.”

“She’s not going to go for that, Dean, and I’ve already been exposed to whatever magic this God had been putting up, so wouldn’t it make sense for you to stick by her?”  Sam replied and watched as Dean frowned. 

He wanted to get in and get it done, not worry about one third of the team freaking out about crowds, but there was nothing he could do, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for Beth or Sam.  With a sigh, he moved out from behind the wheel, the backpack with the smokers hanging from his shoulder and he watched as Beth surveyed the scene.

Sam stepped up beside her, watching the flow of the people. “Hundreds of thousands in one four day weekend.”

“Thanks for the reminder there, Winchester!”  Beth snapped and looked up at him, Sam gave her a slight tilt of his head.  He hadn’t said it to remind her of the crowd, but to let her think about what happened if they failed. “Three people in a swarm of thousands.”

Dean looked at her, not sure he had heard her right but he was going to go with it anyway.  “I think I have an idea.”

“Well, let’s hear it genius,” Beth whispered, as Dean stepped closer.  She wasn’t being condescending at all, she knew the man’s intelligence and was trying to encourage him to give them something to go on.

“A swarm, you said it yourself,” Dean shrugged.

“I meant of people,” she restated.

“And I’m saying bees,” she watched as he handed the pack to Sam.  “Pissing off the bees actually.”

“You’re going to run in head first into a bees nest?”  Sam questioned and watched the daredevil look in Dean’s eyes grow. “Are you insane?”

“More than likely,” he grinned as he put his hands on his hips.  “Look, the bees will swarm and the people will run and Beth will be safe.”

“Why wouldn’t I be safe?”  She shrugged and watched as he looked at her, his eyes wide like he had been caught revealing a secret that only he should know. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, tucked her hand back behind her jacket and watched as he smiled.  “Alright but take the tall guy with you, at least I’ll know you’re both in the same place and the smokers will keep the bees from attacking you after you’ve done your fair share of irritating them.” 

Dean watched as Sam kissed Beth on the head, whispering in her ear as he moved on down towards the crowded walkway, but Dean just stared at her for moment more.

“Be safe.” He whispered softly. Beth watched as his smile disappeared when he said it.

“I’m not going to disappear, Dean, I haven’t finished being a thorn in your side.”  Beth winked and watched as he took his time heading down to meet his brother, which included the occasional looks back in her direction.

He stopped when he reached Sam and the two of them glanced back to the spot where Beth had stood, finding it empty and Dean’s heart, the ever so steady one that she had noted earlier skipped a beat.  Sam nudged his arm and they began the trek to the edge of the walk, where the rails separated them from the beach and Sam was the first one to hop over, followed by Dean who still managed to land on his feet despite the fact that the sand soft.

With a quick check in all directions, Dean gestured with his hand for Sam to move along but the two stayed crouched and tight along the support beams.  As they neared the store, Dean could make out the distinct buzz of the bees. Beth was right, there was definitely a hive under the walkway. Dean tapped Sam on the shoulder and pointed upwards.  The taller of the two brothers shook his head because he knew there was no way Dean was going to see without climbing.

He handed him the bag and placed his foot upon a stump, one that used to be an old beam, hoisting himself up to get a peek over the wood.  Through the crowd of legs, tents and rides, Sam was surprised to find that he could see the shop from there, and he watched as Beth casually merged into the crowd from the corner of the building.  She had avoided it all together, by sneaking through the back of the walk, down the alleys and corridors which made up the behind-the-scenes spots along the way.

She seemed to know exactly where he was, because before she entered the shop, she turned and looked down, following the trail right to his eyes.  With a half-cocked grin, she winked and opened the door.

“Okay, she’s in, let’s get moving,” Sam sighed as he jumped down and the two of them moved under the planks that made up the walk.  Dean grumbled under his breath as they pulled out the flashlight and began to search around the darkness. “Stop bellyaching, you’re the one who thought making them mad would be such a good idea.”

“It’s not the bees I’m worried about, Sam, it’s the foundation above us.”  Dean answered as they made their way through the maze of thick posts. “Do you think she’s in yet?”

“Yeah, I can feel her close.” Sam answered as they came upon a hatchway door.  “Pretty odd place for a hatch, don’t you think?”

Dean turned his light and flashed it down the way they had come, making note of the distance. “One good hurricane and the whole basement would be flooded. Someone didn’t think this one out very well.”

“Yeah, but how much do you want to bet this is where are worker bees are?”  Sam reached down and felt it give, but only a little and Dean turned to check out the lock that was on it.  “Well, at least that’s one good thing.”

Sam handed him the bag and the light before taking out his lock kit, crouching down beside it.  Dean held the light steady waiting for the simple sound of the lock clicking and slowly Sam pulled off the chain.  On a silent count of three, both men took a door and swung the hatch open. The sound of the buzz was amplified ten times more with them open and instantly they were surrounded.  

Sam dropped the bag, grabbed all four of the smokers and lit them up.  They knew how to use them, Beth made sure of it but as they moved down into the basement they found it easier to have one clipped to their belt and one in hand so that they could use the other for the flashlights.  

There was no telling just where they were, it was complete darkness and the only sound was the buzz.  Dean could feel the disorientation that surrounded him and checked out the ceiling above him. He turned his head toward Sam and along with it went his light, which Sam blocked out by raising his hand.

“Dude, are you seriously trying to blind me?”  Sam questioned.

“No, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t in drone mode.”  Dean replied and started to look around.

“The candy is out of my system, trust me.”  And the comment made Dean laugh because, even though Beth didn’t have a clue, he was wide awake when that two bags of gummies came back up and Sam was left sitting in the bathroom for an hour shaking off the after-effects of a sugar high.  It was the only reason the boy had gotten most of the sandwich down to begin with. 

“Alright, let’s find something to piss these little bastards off,” Dean smiled, and watched as Sam also turned to see what way lying around.

 

Beth stepped into the crowded store. While she was happy to see the patrons filling their bags, she knew she had to put a stop to it.  Everyone in there, young or old, was acting like a kid, handfuls were being placed in the large white bags without consideration of others, and some were actually eating right out of the box. 

She shifted through the crowd, trying to look harmless as she stopped and glanced over the jars of candy, the packages of old gum cigarettes, even the Necco wafers looked tempting, but the off feeling that floated around the room kept her from giving into the temptation of picking something up, anything just to eat it.  

That was when she saw something strange.  The older man, the one who had manned the counter earlier had stood no less than ten feet from her, ringing up people who waited in line like good little soldiers but when she looked up from the wax-wrapped candy on the counter she saw a woman.  A woman that Sam had described and she found herself a little taken aback, in fact her whole thought process began to fade into something that resembled a jumbled mess of confusion.

Maybe she had the god wrong, maybe she wasn’t really taking into account that there were two of them, or that it was possible that they weren’t Greek Gods at all, just some tricksters on a warpath.  

_ “If you’re going to do something, now would be the time.” _ Her thoughts connected with Dean’s and even her mental voice sounded mean and confused.  

 

“On it!”  Dean almost hollered as he replied to Beth’s mental distress, just as he swung the copper pipe that he had found hiding in the corner.  

Sam was blazing both smokers, trying to keep the swarming bees away from his brother but the more that Dean landed the knockdown blows to the hives, the more trouble he was having keeping them at bay.  

Dean’s face was full of anger, full of stress and with one swing after the other, he felt himself getting more aggressive.  He knew what was going on. The bees were projecting and the Queen was about to go off. He stuck to it, swinging with everything he had because one of the most important people in his life was counting on him to come through.

Sam dumped the two smokers in his hands and reached for the one on Dean’s belt and his own to start it up again.  This time he aimed for the back of the bunch, pushing them towards the open hatchway and finally there was some movement as the swarm headed out the door and upwards towards the boardwalk.

“They’re loose, Beth,” Dean replied but he couldn’t feel her anymore, he couldn’t connect and this made him turn to Sam, panic on his face as both rushed out the doorway.

 

Beth watched as everyone in the store began to get greedy. The fun, loving and friendly people who once gushed over the amount of candy seemed to change and they were pushing, and punching.  Beth thought of the bees under the floorboards, and how she could feel the change in the room. Dean had done something and now she knew what.

Outside the people began to scream as the large swarm took over the boardwalk, but Beth’s anxiety of the impending rush of the crowd crept up on her.  She sucked it back down, swallowed hard and hoped her heart could take it as she moved forward further into the room, towards the spot where the woman had stood.

No one ever noticed, not the bystanders or the patrons, but when she pulled that gun from behind her back and aimed, the woman in the apron did.  Her eyes were the same color as amber honey and she smiled, an evil one thick with sweetness and pain as her old face turned to that of youth and beauty, but the smile, the eons of hatred never left.

“It’s over Hebe, you need to let the people go.”  Beth yelled over the hordes that began to exit the building and soon it was quiet, too quiet as the two women stood facing off.  “You’re not in control of your hive anymore, you’ve lost.”

“It only takes one Queen to control them, North Wind, and I’m sure I know who can take my place,” she smiled.  Hebe looked no older than twenty but her voice was full of agelessness. “I was cupbearer for the Gods, the one who chose which nectar, which ambrosia but one flaw in a design and all of it came crashing down.  I was replaced, but here…here I have been for a century and no one but you had seemed to notice.”

“And that’s special why?”  Beth questioned.

“You will be the next Queen,” she laughed.  “You will rise up the Titans from Tartarus and rule over us all.”

“I hate to break it to you lady, but I’m not Greek,” Beth flipped the safety off and watched as she stepped closer, “nor am I Zeus.”

“Zeus is gone, North Wind, he’s lightning ran out ages ago and the only thing keeping the world of Olympians from reigning down upon your precious world is one simple thing,” Hebe stopped and that evil filled smile turned into something more familiar.  “The last of her kind, the Alpha of all hunters, and the one thing needed to make Olympus great again.”

“I will not sacrifice myself or my boys for any God, no matter how big they are.”  Beth couldn’t help but think of her words, almost everything that she had been told was coming from this woman’s honey coated throat. The Alpha, the last…what exactly were they planning to use her for.  “If you think I’m going to release the Titans and bring Chronos back to Earth, you and the rest of your nutcase, inbred family has another thing coming.”

“What do you mean Zeus is gone?”  Dean questioned, his voice filled Beth’s ear and she almost felt total relief but she still searched for Sam.

“The God is dead, why do you think it is so easy for a mortal to take control of us?  The Almighty wouldn’t let us be so controlled if he were alive.” Hebe wasn’t making any sense, not to Beth, who still seemed to feel the confusion of the bees that swarmed outside the building and the rush of people who scurried about looking for shelter from them.  “She is the one they need, SHE is the key to righting the wrongs done so many years ago.”

“What wrong?”  Beth shook her head and stepped back, putting more distance between her and that spell, the one that seemed to come off Hebe in oozing waves.  It made her head cloudy, and her thoughts sticky with doubt. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“The book,” she answered, “the book was all they needed to kill the Gods of old.”

“The Book of the Damned,” Dean whispered moving up beside Beth, trying to steady her hand, but the only thing that filled her mind was that sound, the one of the guitar, of the drums…the stairway.  “Enough!” Dean snapped, “let her go or I swear I will blow you away!”

“You can’t harm me, Dean Winchester,” she laughed, which instantly washed over him, something like love, instant adoration but Dean did his best to shake it off, his hands reached out for Beth and he let the feelings for her take over.  “My spell brings you to me, just like Beth, and I’ll deliver you both to the man who holds all of our fates. You can’t resist, you just want to give in and let me take you.”

“I might not be able to kill you, bitch,” Dean felt his knees grow weak as her temptation dragged him down, and Beth stood frozen in place.  “but he sure as hell can!”

Beth felt the forceful yank as Dean brought her to the floor with him and her gun shot off as her finger slipped on the trigger, sending an olive bullet in the direction of the Goddess.  The fog lifted, and Dean smiled over at her, both of them down on their hands and knees but when she looked up at Hebe, she found that it wasn’t the bullet that had broken the spell, but the arrow that protruded from her chest.

With wide eyes, she turned and looked at the man she had searched for, the one whose mind had become blank and blocked, the one that stood with her crossbow in his hands, and a look of pure hatred on his face.  Sam closed his eyes as the white light exploded around the room, but when he opened them, that defiant stare locked onto hers and he raised the bow, as he looked bleakly around the room.

Beth stood, pulling Dean to his feet and she ran to Sam, her arms wrapping around him as he brought one arm down around her, the other released the crossbow and let it swing, so that he could place it protectively against her hair as he tried to catch his breath.  

Dean looked around the room, a store full of candy and fudge, and he watched as it all seemed to fade, until they were staring at empty shelves.  It was then that the lights came on outside and voices began to fill their ears. Sam took Beth by the hand as Dean scooped her gun up from the floor.  The three walked as casually as possible towards the car, but just as they thought they were in the clear, Sam stopped dead.

Just ahead was a troupe of clowns, more than half a dozen by a rough count and it was Dean this time that stopped in front of his brother, focusing his eyes on him, because there was no way Beth was going to reach.

Sam stared at the depth of worry in Dean’s eyes and felt the tug on his hand as Beth pulled him to the right.  For each step that Sam took in that direction, Dean matched it, never losing eye contact until they were completely in the dark and Sam was able to breath.

“Thanks,” he said and felt Dean slap him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, you really need to see a doctor about that crap!”  His brother teased and walked on ahead as Sam smiled down at Beth, wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he let his heart catch up with him, and slowly they found their way back to the Impala.

 

The motel was cleaned out, their possessions were all packed into the car and Dean found himself leaning against the hood as he looked out over the ocean, some four miles down a sideways street where Beth had found him before.  

Sam stepped up beside him, handing him the opened beer bottle and both watched the girl who twirled in the sand barefoot. “Do you think we should tell her that it’s not exactly beach weather?”

“If you feel froggy, go ahead and jump, but I’m not telling that girl anything,” Dean snickered. “She looks like she might bite your head off.”

“Nope, not froggy enough,” Sam answered and smiled.  He took a swig of the beer and shook his head. “I think we should head back.”

“After what the Queen of Candy said, I think we should too,” Dean sighed, “but what are we going to find there that’s going to make this any easier?”

“Answers,” Sam shrugged, “I think it’s time that we found some sort of answers.”

“I don’t get it,” Dean shook his head, “the more answers we get, the more questions come up. It’s like a never ending battle.”

“She’s going to put it together, Dean, and when she does,” Sam paused, “a hell will break loose like we have never seen.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve seen plenty.”  

Beth grabbed her shoes and headed back towards them. Once she hopped into them she ran up and scooted between them, finding a warm spot on the hood of the car as she did.  

“Ready to roll?”

“Home,” she nodded and glanced at both of them, “I think I’m ready to head home.”

“Good, we were thinking the same thing.” Dean kissed her on the temple, tossed the beer he had taken two sips of into the trash and slid into the car.  Sam turned to stand between her legs as she looked up at him.

“You were pretty badass back there,” Beth smiled. Sam leaned down, placing his hands on the warm black paint and kissed her softly.

“Yeah, you think so?”  He grinned.

“I thought she would be all over you with that power.”

“She wanted love, devotion, another hive she could control,” Sam shrugged, his lips barely separated from her.  “I already have my queen.”

“Hmm, sweet talk will get you everywhere, Sam Winchester.” Beth laughed as that smile reached his eyes and he pressed his lips against hers. 

“Come on!” Dean yelled, “you can do that in the car!”

“Did he just give us permission to…” Beth asked and Sam looked over at Dean with a grin.

“That’s not what I meant!”  Dean answered, but Sam took her hand and led her to the back where they both climbed in.  “Son of a bitch!”

 

As Dean swung the car around, he stopped next to the garbage can, rolled down the window and dropped the third bag of candy from the Sweet Shoppe into the trash before rolling it up and speeding away.

They were on their way home, Dean smiled, some place that they never had besides the MOL bunker and the Impala, but this time it wasn’t just Sam he was coming home to, it was Beth, Becca, Cas and his Mom.  It was family, his family.

  
  



	20. The Secrets We Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul would always sneak out to the garage and play "Stairway to Heaven" in order to drown out the conversations he was having, but if it was just a song, why did come with a warning and a secret?

The Secrets We Keep

SPN FanFic #20

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary, Crowley and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

THEN

 

The rain was coming down in sheets, not anything unusual for a spring day in upstate New York, but this one was just a little different.  The Impala was gone, so was John, but the boys remained, Sammy in his usual spot beside the raven-haired girl as they talked quietly between the two, on the cold stone floor of the garage.

 Sam would draw with a small piece of chalk, something imaginary, something that resembled a monster. Beth’s blue eyes would peek up from her sketchbook to make a comment or just to look before her blue eyes would land on the boy in the doorway whose green eyes wandered back and forth between them, at least until they met hers.

Dean would sit on the step blocking the only way in or out of the garage, unless the actual wooden one opened, but since his dad was gone and Paul’s car was parked in the drive, Dean didn’t expect any visitors. His back would be to the doorsill, one foot down on the step below and the other bent across, not allowing anyone in, or out, as he flipped the butterfly knife around his fingers.  It was a ritual thing for them, and sometimes even Serena would join in, but Sam and Beth were seven and an eleven-year-old girl didn’t see the sense in watching over their younger siblings especially when an adult was home.

It was quiet, only the sound of the rain and the whispering of the two in the mostly empty space, until Paul stepped over Dean’s leg.

“Excuse me,” he mumbled and moved towards the radio.  It wasn’t like he was playing something different. 

The same thing always happened, Paul would pop in and push the tape in the player, rewind it to the beginning and “Stairway to Heaven” would quickly fill the quiet space.   Dean would move down to the next step and Paul would close the door. It never interested Dean to find out just why the man did what he did at least once a week, but the way he did this time had Beth sitting up.

Nothing but the two boys in the room could break Beth from the book on the floor in front of her but tonight, when she sat up, Dean was curious. He watched as she moved, stepping past Sam, who also stopped drawing and she smiled as she sat down next to Dean but the smile seemed empty.

She cocked her head to the side, not pressing her ear against the wall but as if she were listening above the lyrics to the music and suddenly her eyes went wide.  The grasp on Dean’s hand took him back just a bit, since she usually only let Sam touch her, but he tried to relax and let her hold on. Sam glanced at their joined hands and he frowned but the look of shock from Dean made him realize something else was going on.  

Dean watched as he placed the chalk gently on the ground, as if the sound of the small white piece would disturb something over the sound of the rock song, and he tiptoed over to sit on the floor next to Beth’s leg.  Dean watched as Sam pressed his body against her, not a usual thing for someone of seven, but when the younger boy leaned his head down on her lap, Dean’s eyes became questioning. 

Beth’s fingers ran through his hair as her grip on Dean’s hand tightened.  She seemed to be unconsciously making the moves, as her fingers swirled in Sam’s unkempt hair until she looked up just as suddenly as she had sat down and both the younger ones made a dash for the chalk and crayons, giggling softly as they went.  

Seconds later the door opened, Paul stepped out passed them and looked at the radio. He glanced at the two on the floor then at Dean, who was practicing a move with the knife, and decided that leaving the music on was the best thing for them.  Paul stepped over towards Beth, crouched down and stroked the back of her head as he looked over her drawing. Dean watched him try to smile, but he could see that whatever Beth was doing was very disturbing to the man and Paul left the room rather quickly, leaving the door open again, where Dean again resumed his regular position.

 

NOW

 

Beth’s eyes fluttered in her sleep, as she slept curled up in the backseat, a blanket thrown over her.  It wasn’t her usual position but with the cold weather outside and the leather underneath her, she wasn’t stretching out.  

Sam, who sat behind the wheel, tried his best to concentrate on the road instead of the woman in the rearview, but Dean could tell his brother was having a hard time.

“I can drive, you know,” Dean sighed and watched as Sam shook his head.  “Then keep your damn eyes on the road.” Dean reached up and moved the mirror so that he could see her and Sam had to rely on the side view mirrors to pass anyone.  “What’s up with you, anyway?”

“It’s three o’clock in the morning, we’re four hours into an eight hour trip and she’s been having nightmares for half that time,” Sam said softly, trying to keep the irritation in his voice to a minimum.  “We should just stop and finish the drive when the sun is up.”

“Really, with four hours to go?”  Dean smiled sarcastically. “You think that’s a good plan?”  Sam let out a breath and gripped the wheel harder. “You know every time we stop, we end up on a case.”

“We could always say no.”  Sam answered and peeked over at Dean who had turned in his seat.  Screw the mirrors, they weren’t telling him what he needed to know, which was if she were warm enough.  “Just climb back there and help her.”

Dean stared at his brother with a little bit of apprehension, “really?” 

“I can’t listen to it, and I can’t get in to see what the hell it is she’s dreaming about.”  Sam growled, which was a new one for him. 

Dean saw the troubled look on Sam’s face and decided he was right, the girl needed something to calm her down. He glanced at Sam one last time, making sure the man to his right wasn’t going to change his mind, then climbed over the seat and slid in the best he could behind Beth. She was shivering but not from the cold, in fact Dean thought the back seat was pretty warm. He moved the blanket, covering them both with it, moved his arm under her neck and pulled her tightly against him as he placed his face against her neck.

She always smelled the same, leather, vanilla and just a hint of the outdoors, like she had been running through the woods.  It didn’t matter if she showered, which only brought it out more, but that was the way Dean had always thought of her, a wild spirit in a leather coat.  The shivering stopped as he held her body close, and he was able to connect with her mind, tap into the dream state she was in, which gave Sam some relief because the sounds of her restlessness eased.

“What do you see?”  Sam asked softly, hoping not to wake her up, but Dean just kept himself right there without moving a muscle.

_ “Jesus Christ,” _ Dean’s mind tingled against Sam’s and quickly Sam turned the mirror to see his bright green eyes staring up towards him.  “ _ It’s not a dream, it’s a memory.” _

“Of what?”

_ “The garage, the drawing, the song.”  _ Dean’s voice became just as upset as the noises Beth was making and Sam reached out to try to block him but Dean was in too deep.

“Dean, get out!” Sam pulled the car over and turned in the seat, but his brother just stared at him with blank eyes.  “Dean!”

“It’s okay, “ Dean whispered, blinking but his hand came up from under the blanket and he gently pressed her hair down, kissing her cheek. His eyes were full of sorrow and when he released her head, he used the back of his hand to brush away what looked like a tear. “It’s okay, Sammy.  She’s out.”

“What the hell was that?”  Sam whispered but Dean shook his head.

“A trigger?”  He mumbled. “The garage…the song, it’s a trigger for her to remember something.”

“So how do we find out what she’s remembering?”

“We have to stop,” Dean insisted, running a hand through his hair.  “We need to figure this out.”

“We’re not far from Scranton, I’ll find a place there, just keep hold of her.”  Sam watched him nod, still clearly upset and turned back in the seat. 

With the Impala back on the road, Sam drove quietly, listening to Dean speak softly into her ear but she never replied.  He believed his older brother was trying to calm himself down, and Sam’s hope was that Dean would share with him exactly what was going on in Beth’s mind.

 

The motel was situated not far from the highway and Sam found a way to park, pay and find the room without making too much noise in the middle of the night.  When the back door opened, Beth’s eyes opened quickly, the light surprising her and she sat up, knocking the covers off from Dean, who she gave an even more curious look too.

“What happened?”  She asked softly as she looked down at the pain in his eyes before turning towards Sam and the worry that filled his.  “I swear if you boys don’t open your pie holes and start talking…”

Sam smiled at her spunk and helped her from the car as Dean wrestled with the blanket, a few items that they might need, and the locks before following them in.  Beth sat on the bed, glanced at the time on the clock and watched Sam pace for a moment until she could lock her sights on Dean.

“What…the…hell…happened?”  She said very slowly and watched as Dean squatted down in front of her.  His mouth moved but no words came out. “Dean?”

“There's a lady who's sure, all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven,” his voice was beautiful as he sang the lyrics but just as the last note left his mouth, Beth’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she dropped back on the bed.  Sam raced forward, trying to get to her, but Dean put his hand up, moved closer to hear ear and continued. “When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for.”

Beth gasped for breath but reached out for Dean’s hand, which she took with force as she squeezed tight and he watched as her head cocked to the side just as had done every time she listened to her father through the door.  Dean gestured to Sam with his hand, to lay his head on her lap and as soon as the warmth from Sam’s face hit her leg, Beth’s hand came down and made the same swirling patterns. Sam, confused as hell, looked up at Dean, who told him to wait just a second more, “ooh ooh ooh ooh and she's buying a stairway to heaven.”

“Dad,” Beth whispered and Dean watched her face as she seemed to listen more intensely.

“What is Dad saying?”  Dean asked.

“We shouldn’t be listening,” Beth’s voice was just as sweet and tiny as it was when she was seven, “that’s why the music’s on, so we can’t hear.”

“It’s okay, Beth,” Dean spoke so gently that Sam’s heart almost broke from the love he heard in it, “Dad wants us to know what he was talking about now, it’s time, that’s why you’ve been humming the song.  What is Dad saying?”

“The book,” she whispered, getting closer to him as she played with Sam’s hair, “I was never supposed to see the book.”

“Okay, what about the book, what were you not supposed to see?”  Sam’s eyes locked on his brother’s.

“Dean, I don’t think this is a good idea, not here, there aren’t any wards,” Sam whispered but Dean shushed him quickly.

“The book has magic, it can call the gods, the devils, the angels, and…” Beth stopped for a second, moved her head just a little as if she didn’t quite understand, “and me.”

“No,” Dean smiled and shook his head, his hand bringing hers to his mouth, “Beth, it can’t bring you, you’re already here.”

“No, no, not like that,” she giggled and Sam closed his eyes tightly, “it can make me…Dean, I don’t want to listen anymore.”

“It’s okay, Kid,” he said softly against her ear.  “You don’t have to anymore, not right now.”

“Shh, he’s coming,” she released his hand, stopped twirling Sam’s hair and acted as if she grabbed her crayon.  

“Who’s coming?”  Sam whispered, and hoped for one more answer, “Beth, is Dad coming?”

“No, the man in black with the angel wings.” She closed her eyes softly and curled up on the bed.

Sam moved to stand, his hands in his hair as he pulled it back from his face and paced the length of the dresser.  Dean hadn’t moved from the side of the bed, his eyes were full of emotions, hatred, anger, and pain as he watched her but when he looked up at Sam, he knew something wasn’t right.

“That’s the third time we’ve heard about the angel,” Dean growled and moved so he wasn’t so close to her ear.  “Who the hell is it?”

“I don’t know, I don’t remember an angel, except…” Sam paused and blinked, thinking back into his own memories, “the rain storm with the barn, we thought it was our imagination.”

“You’re talking about the Winder that you saw in the clouds?”  

Sam nodded, “what if it wasn’t a Winder? What if it was that same angel that she had seen before, the one who took her from the fort, the one Paul says warned her about Elkins?”

“What if it wasn’t an angel at all?” The voice that filled the room was distinct and Sam turned from the sudden anger on Dean’s face to the man who stood by the table.  Crowley smiled at both of them, his hands folded in front, still dressed in that same designer black suit. “Hello, boys.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean snapped, drawing his gun as Crowley stepped further into the room.  “One more step and I blow your face off!”

“I do love it when you tease,” Crowley smiled, looking down at the girl on the bed, “but I didn’t come here to play with you this time, I came to stop you from putting her in more danger by diving into things you don’t understand.”

“Why the hell would you care?” Sam questioned.

“Believe it or not, Moose, I’ve been protecting her since she was a little girl,” he smiled and stepped passed Dean, who lowered the gun as he made the remark.

“What?” Dean’s voice was full of disbelief.

“Who do you think took her on a walk and told her about Elkins?”  Crowley smiled and pointed with both fingers at himself, “or the time in the barn, during the storm, when you saw “something” up in the clouds?  Me as well! But I had to stop you this time.”

“Why?”

“You weren’t always the brightest one, were you?”  Crowley teased and shook his head. “Pitty, brains never come with the beauty.”  Crowley stood beside the bed, looking down at Beth’s calm face and he reached out a hand, a gesture that made that Colt come flying back to firing position, but Crowley continued, and gently pushed her hair away from his face.  “You should listen to your brother more often, Dean! Samantha is right, this is no place for this to happen, there’s no wards, no protection against angels or demons, or Olympians for that matter.”

“What do you care, Crowley?”  Sam questioned and watched him shake his head.

“I made a promise,” he said with a soft but stern voice, “a promise I intend to keep.”

“So who made a deal with you?”  Dean cocked the slide back on the gun and Crowley turned.  

“Edward Maison,” he shrugged and knew that the boys probably wouldn’t have a clue.

“Wait, that was her grandfather’s name.” Sam spoke up, the confusion evident on his face.  “His journal never said anything about making a deal.”

“I never said he made a deal, I said I made a promise.”  Crowley shrugged and sat down on the bed across from Beth, and Dean watched some resemblance of caring come to the King of Hell’s eyes.  “Way back before you were born, a man had me trapped in his house. He was a witch, but didn’t know it at the time, in Dunbarton, New Hampshire of all places.  Edward freed me of my trap, though I made it look as if I were the ghost of Joseph’s wife. The baby Edward was expecting was…” Crowley paused, “he wasn’t supposed to make it.”

“You cheated Death for this man?”  Dean questioned. “Death? Do you know what kind of ripples that would make?”

“Yes, and you wouldn’t be here with your true love!”  Crowley snapped and looked up at him. “Would you like me to go back and undo it?”

“Wait, but what about her birthmark?”  Sam spoke up, and this made Crowley move his angry eyes to the tall man in the room. 

“That was courtesy of Hera,” he shrugged.  “I guess I wasn’t the only one looking after Maison’s family.  Hera gave him the birthmark because they were the last of the North Winds, the Greek Gods of the old days, and apparently they had bigger plans than I did, because they made sure that the mark was passed down.”

“You saved a baby who was destined to die and kept watch over a girl who was fated to be…what?  Some sort of pawn in a game between the Olympians?” Dean closed his eyes, shaking his head as he tried to wrap his own head around it.  

“I had no idea about the game they were playing, I just knew I made a promise.”  Crowley stood and moved up to stand in front of Dean. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have wards to put up.   _ STOP _ playing in her head!”

With that, Crowley had disappeared from the room. 

Dean let out a breath and blinked as if he were just waking up from a dream, but Sam wasn’t taking any chances.  He kicked off his shoes and climbed up on the bed, pulling Beth against him as he placed his gun under the pillow.  She gave him some grief about being out of place and moved herself up to get more comfortable as Dean locked the door and shut off the lights.

Sam was the protector this time but Dean never shut his eyes, he couldn’t.  He had heard things that his mind just wouldn’t ignore and the puzzle in his head was starting to come together. Crowley protecting a family, what was the world going to come to next?  He stared at the couple until the sun came up and only then did he find a few minutes to sleep.

 

Dean could hear the whispers of Beth on the phone and smell the coffee that Sam brought in as he placed breakfast down on the table.  He opened his eyes for only a moment or two, scoping out the scene as Beth sat on the dresser, her usual spot, and Sam put out the three brown cardboard containers before handing her a coffee.  

She was on her Bluetooth, had both hands free and held the cup like it was last one on Earth, smelling the aroma before she took a sip and nodded her head to the voice in her ear, but he was too tired to make out what was being said and really didn’t care.  The sun was out, the light was shining through the trees and the King of Hell was not standing in his room. Dean was going back to sleep.

 

Beth smiled as his eyes closed once more, the pillow he had draped over his head hadn’t hid the fact that those green ones had landed right on her, she just chose to ignore it. Becca lectured about the etiquette of a proper phone call when the three decide to make an unscheduled stop and went on to ask about carnival, which Beth described in as much detail as she wanted to give, which was your basic “ah some other Greek God thing”, and left it at that.

Sam sat down at the laptop, trying with everything he had to stay off the local police reports or search the internet for anything that might be creepy or unusual to other people but it didn’t work.  Hunting was in his blood and suspicious activity was his own little guilty pleasure but he knew not to ask about checking it out. He just wanted to know what Beth knew and what she remembered.

He knew her feelings were pretty steady, she didn’t really remember the conversation with Dean about her father, or the memories from the trip up so far, which made him feel ten times better than he had when he pulled her against him earlier that morning.  He was afraid she would remember everything and with Dean asleep, he didn’t have the answers that she needed.

“Bec, seriously,” Beth whispered as she hopped down from the dresser and move to the table where Sam had placed her pancakes.  She had intended on ignoring them for now but the puppy dog eyes he gave her was too much and she gave in. “It’s not really a big deal.”

_ “It is when you have Cas up your ass because you’re not here yet.” _  Becca scolded…again.

“Tell him to get out of your ass.”  Beth replied and Sam looked at her strangely, but she just used her hands to give him an “I have no clue” kind of look.  “We’re going to let Dean sleep for a few more hours. I honestly don’t know when the last time was that he got a good amount, and we’ll be on our way home, no stops, promise.”

_ “I’ll hold you to it and, just remember, I can make you do strange things without your knowledge.” _  Becca laughed, but that comment made Beth stop with her fork midway to her mouth.   _ “It was a joke, Peterson.” _

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, I…ah, just remembered something.”  She smiled, but it was the only part of the conversation that got through on the phone.  “I’ll call you when we get on the road.”

_ “Make sure you do.” _ Becca replied and hung up.

Sam closed the lid to the laptop and watched her, the phone had disconnected, the blue light on her earpiece had stopped blinking but at that moment, so did she.  He reached over and patted her gently on the top of her hand.

“Hey,” she looked at him quickly and shook her head.  “You alright?”

“What happened last night?”  She whispered and watched as his face went blank. 

“We woke you in the car and you came in and fell back to sleep,” Sam shrugged, taking his eyes off her.

“You know breaking eye contact is a tell, right?”  She watched as his drew in a breath and his lips drew straight. “Sam, don’t make me hurt you.”

Sam gave her a crooked smile and sat forward at the table, resting both arms on the counter as he did.  “Crowley showed up.”

“What?”  Her eyes filled with anger and fear.  “Why?”

“He caught wind of something,” Sam sighed and knew he wasn’t going to be able to pass this one over on her. “Look, Beth, it’ll better if we talk about this when we get home.”

“Oh, yeah, totally,” she said sarcastically putting down the plastic fork without the satisfaction of it clinking against the table.  “Because Crowley showing up on any given day is a good thing.”

Beth stood, grabbed her coat and headed for the door. 

“Where are you going?”

“Not far.” She answered and stepped out into the chilly morning air, pulling on the black jacket as she went.

 

Beth looked both ways, letting the energy she was looking for flow over her and as she zipped up against the chill, she turned to her right and headed down the sidewalk toward the vacant lot two buildings down.

She stood there, her eyes gazing over the broken bottles and discarded bricks for several minutes before she finally lifted her eyes skyward and took a deep breath.

“Crowley!”  She grumbled, not loud enough to attract attention, but so that she was heard, “Crowley, you son of a …”

“Now, now Angel, there’s no need to be vulgar.”  His voice rang in her ear from behind and Beth casually turned to look at him. He smiled at her but it was lost on the scowl that was returned and they stood there, casually.  “You called.”

“What happened last night?”  She questioned and took a step forward.  Not one to back down from a stare, his smile only widened.

“Your pets didn’t tell you anything?”  He was surprised to hear the anger in her voice.

“I’m asking you.” This time Crowley stepped closer.  “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to stop you from playing in your head,” he stated and Beth watched as he glanced around.  “Those two nitwits don’t know what they are getting you into. You can’t go digging up the past without protection.”

“What’s in my head that could be so bad?  And what do you care about my past?” She couldn’t tell anything from his face, his eyes were blank, his expression was the same.  “What do you know?”

“Everything!”  He growled, tired of her questions.  “I have been protecting you since you were a baby, Angel, and I’m asking you to stop playing around with things that are better left buried.”

“Protecting me?  You call those two years protecting me?”  Beth laughed and shook her head. “I have more blood on my hands than any demon you can call up, do you really think that what you did, what you offered was protection?”

“No,” he whispered and watched her take a step back, “it was my selfish way of keeping you close after they lost you. It was my way of making sure that you were safe.”

“Why?”  She just wanted one answer.

“It’s not time, Angel.”  Crowley turned and walked away.

“Stop calling me that!”  She demanded and watched him stop. “Jesus Crowley, I need to know what’s going on, I need to understand so that I can keep my family safe.”

“Can you not use the “J” word?”  Crowley mumbled but it was just a way for him to avoid her and Beth sighed.  

“Fine, then let’s talk about you,” with his back to her, he listened as she raised her eyebrows, “Why haven’t you told her?” 

Crowley turned to look at her as the sun reflected in her eyes.  “You’re going to have to be less cryptic?”

“Now you know how I feel,” she shrugged, “so, tell me, why haven’t you told Becca that you’re in love with her?”  Beth restated the question and watched the scowl cross his face.

“She’s better off with a lost little seraph that with me, sweetheart.”  Beth smiled and looked up at the sky as she shook her head. “Go back to your boys, get home safe and stay out of your own head!”

“Crowley,” she started but turned to see the lot empty.  With a sigh, she nodded, turned and made her way back to the hotel room, where Sam was waiting.

 

“Did you get any answers?”  Sam questioned as she hung the coat up.

“Not any less cryptic ones than the few that you gave me,” she replied and moved over towards Dean’s bed and laid down in the space that was left between his body and the edge of the bed.  “I got “stop trying to get inside your own head”, which tells me absolutely nothing.”

Dean’s arm wrapped around her and pulled her close as he breathed against her neck.  “You should listen to him, being in your own head sucks.” 

“You have no idea what I’m talking about, go back to sleep,” Beth smiled and felt him nod before his fingers moved over her stomach then rested in one spot.  Beth wanted to close her eyes, wanted to block out the day but as she lay there, the only thing she could do was look at Sam.

The pain in her temples began to grow, not for lack of trying to stop it but her hand came up and she rubbed both of them with cold fingers.  She could hear herself humming, and the vibration brought the pain down to a tolerable level but it had Dean instantly awake. He turned her on the bed, cupped her face in his hands and watched the pain fill her eyes.

“We need to leave!”  Crowley’s voice penetrated her thoughts and she watched as Sam grabbed all of the things they had brought it, while Dean scooped her off the bed.  

“No,” she whispered and felt him hold her tightly. “It’s just a headache.”

“That’s no headache, Angel.”  

“I told you to stop calling me that,” Beth groaned and huddled against the warm body as Sam found his way into the backseat with Dean reluctantly letting her go. Dean and the King of Hell occupied the front as the Impala roared out of the parking space, the hotel keys left in the door.  

 

She didn’t know how long she lay there, but it felt like the whole trip, feeling the rocking of the car as she sat pulled up against Sam. She could hear his timed breaths as if he was keeping the rhythm just for her but that pain came and went the further away they got from Scranton.  With droopy eyes, she found herself staring up at Sam, his intense gaze landed on her as he smiled, but just as she thought she could tell him what was going on, she faded back into the darkness.

 

“Are you drawing that same picture again?” A boy’s voice interrupted the color of the crimson pencil that moved quickly, side to side on the white background in front of her and Beth looked up to see a  twelve-year-old Sam standing in front of her as she sat on the garage floor, her sketch pad in hand. He crouched down and looked at her with those bright eyes. “I don’t get it.”

“It helps me relax,” Beth shrugged and closed the hardcover of the book  so that he wouldn’t look at it anymore. “What are you doing here, I thought you weren’t going to be back for two weeks?”

“I can leave you alone if you want,” Sam said and moved to leave but Beth reached out her hand and grabbed him by the wrist. 

“No, don’t…” Sam’s eyes filled with worry as he watched her for a moment before he smiled.  “Uncle Jim isn’t…” she huffed, “Uncle Jim doesn’t like when I draw this, and I’ve been hiding it out here all week.  He said the songs been bugging him too.”

“It’s just a song.”  Sam tease but his voice became really defensive as he looked up at the garage door.  Sixteen-year-old Dean stood in the doorway, his hands in his pockets as he looked over at the two of them.  “What is it, Dean?”

“You guys okay?” He questioned, and he took those two steps towards them.  “Something around here feels weird.”

“I think you’ve been hunting too much,” Beth replied and stood up.  Both boys watched as she stuck the notebook into the space between two large boxes, moving them over to make sure it was well hidden and she turned to them.  “Come on, there’s something I need to show you.”

Sam and Dean followed the girl without hesitation as she grabbed a light coat and she lifted the garage door, letting the sunlight into the darkened space.  Dean glanced back at the house, hoping that Serena wasn’t following or that Jim Murphy wasn’t peeking out the window. He had enough issues with the boys hanging out with Beth alone, never mind that they were about to take off with her to God knows where.

“Where are we going, Beth?”  Dean questioned as they finally stepped into the woods, past the thick brush that hid them from the house and made the trail nearly impossible to find.  

“Just wait, you’ll see.”  She shrugged and Sam turned back to stare at his brother, their nonverbal communication with just the facial expressions had become a science but Beth turned and looked at them, her eyebrows raised.  “I can hear you, you know.”

Dean gave her a snotty smile but Sam’s grin widened as she put a hand on her hip.  

“How can you hear us?”  Sam wondered and watched as she just shrugged and moved on.  This was the most fascinating thing he had stumbled on in days and he wasn’t going to let it go.  “Seriously, Beth, how can you hear us?” 

Dean chased after the two as Sam ran to catch up with her.  The two boys were too busy looking at her to notice the direction she was taking them in but Beth waited until she was standing between them to explain.

“It’s like your voice inside my head,” she said softly, but turned to see if they were being followed.  “Sam and I used to do it when were little, remember Sam?”

“I thought that was all pretend,” Sam answered, looking up at his big brother.  Beth stopped for a split second, which was enough time for them to get a few steps ahead before they turned around and looked at her.  “What is it?”

“They think I’m a freak,” she said softly, her silver eyes catching the sun as she looked up at them, going back and forth between them.  “Everyone, all of them at school and I think my Dad does too.”

“We don’t,” Dean spoke up and reached out for her hand.  Beth took it gently and watched as Sam slowly raised his.

“The three of us are freaks, look what we do, what we hunt.”  Sam added and Beth smiled as she grasped his before they pulled her along so that they walked in a line.  “So, this thing you want to show us?”

“It’s just ahead, but it’s pretty weird.”  They stopped in a small clearing just off the path and Beth looked at the ground.  Both Sam and Dean were a little taken aback by what they saw in the clearing. Burnt into the grass was a large pentacle with strange writings around the inside.  “What do you think it is?”

“Maybe it has to do with witches.”  Sam whispered as he took step closer but Beth put her arm up, blocking his way.

“Don’t step on it,” she whispered and glanced up, which made both of them follow her gaze.  Lingering above was a net, but it was so thin that it was barely visible and only really seen when the sun reflected off what the boys assumed was rope.  “I think it has to do with the black-winged angel.”

“No one is stupid enough to step on something burned on the grass,” Dean rolled his eyes and turned, ready to walk away but Beth stared at it for a little longer before he tugged on her hand.

“Dean, this is part of that drawing.” Sam whispered, which got the older brother to look at him.  “Beth’s drawing. I’ve seen it so many times that I swear I could draw it myself, but the one in hers is so much more detailed.”

“It still doesn’t tell us what this one is for,” Dean stated and shrugged.  “Let’s go, we really shouldn’t be out here.” 

Sam knew that his brother was right but it took a bit more than a tug to get Beth to move away, Sam had to physically turn her around so that she would stop looking at it and the three of them started to move back towards the house.  As they walked, Beth moved on ahead, picking flowers as she went but the boys stayed back and Sam looked up at Dean.

“Don’t tell Dad we saw that,” he ordered and Dean turned towards him, “for Beth’s sake, we can’t tell him anything.”

“Don’t worry, Sammy, I’ll help you protect her.”  Dean replied, placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder and watched the girl in front of him as she hummed that stupid song.

 

Beth woke up to the Impala stopping, she was groggy but when she looked up, all she saw was Sam.  The door opened, then closed and suddenly they were moving again. She forced herself to sit up, taking in the familiar surroundings of home.

“Who just got out of the car?”  She questioned, looking from one man to the other.

“Crowley,” both replied and she nodded.

“Wait, did you say Crowley?” Beth asked as she moved to sit beside Sam and turned to look at the man in black that stood at the side of the road.  “Are you just going to leave him there?”

“Demon wards, remember?”  Dean smiled and watched as she shook her head.

“Barely,” the pain in her head had become an annoying thump that seemed to fade the further they got onto the property.  “Did I sleep the whole time?”

“You did, sort of,” Sam’s blue-green eyes locked on hers, “I think you were remembering things, your thoughts were all over the place.”

“I remembered the Devil’s Trap in the woods,” she whispered, looking down at her hands, which caught Dean’s attention.

“Try not to think of much right now,” Dean suggested and Beth’s eyes moved to stare up at him in the rearview.  “We’ve got to get Crowley passed the wards and figure this thing out.”

“What’s with you being so “Team Crowley” all of a sudden?”  She watched as Dean let out a sigh and his lips thinned to a scowl.

“He knows more than he’s letting on and I’m not about to let him out of my sight.  Once in, there’s not going to be a way for him to get out,” Dean paused, “Becca will take care of that.”

“You put a lot of faith in one witch,” the voice from Beth had changed and Dean found himself looking into the bright glowing eyes of Hera.

“Where have you been?”  Dean scolded and Sam turned in the seat to face her.

“You really think a demon is the best choice for her safety?”

“What are you doing about it?”

“Dean!”  Sam shouted, not that he didn’t agree, but fighting with the Goddess wasn’t going to get him far.  “Hera, what’s going on with her?”

“It’s a Wither,” Hera spoke quietly, looking towards Sam.  

“I thought you said she was immune to this stuff?”

“To Olympians, to Angels and Demons, but Withers are not any of those, they are what come when the spell from the Book of the Damned is cracked.  She must know everything now.” Hera locked her eyes on Sam and reached out to touch him. “You know everything now, Sam. You’re the only one who can help her.”

“How do I know?”  He questioned and watched as she tapped him on the forehead. 

“You know everything about that spell, everything she knows.”  With that Hera faded and Beth slowly pulled her hand away from his face, the look of wonder in her eyes.

“Great,” her breath came in short gasps, “what the hell does that mean.”

“You were awake this time?”  Dean’s constant questions hurt her ears and she winced in pain at his voice, but when Sam spoke, it wasn’t even English and confusion filled her face.

“Beth?”  Sam asked as her eyes seemed to fade and her lips turned a light shade of blue.  “Dean, we need to get her into the house _ , now _ !”

“On it, Sam!” Dean’s low tone growled and he whipped the Impala around.  Sam gathered her up, letting Dean open the door and the two of them sprinted for the doorway. 

Becca’s “welcome home” smile faded the instant they stormed in and Dean went straight for the closet.  It wasn’t that they didn’t trust the wards on the house, but they knew that the bunker below was much more protected.  Cas followed close behind them into the darkness. He knew something wasn’t right and watched with concern as Sam lowered her onto the couch.

Dean stood with his hands on the back of the couch as Sam sat beside her on the floor, running his hand over her soft hair, as he checked her pulse.  They knew she was in there, they could hear the humming, and her words as she fought to get out, but her body wasn’t cooperating. Dean closed his eyes, praying for a miracle and lowered his head.

Cas’ hand rested on his shoulder and Dean turned towards his friend.  “Becca needs to bring the Demon barrier down, like she did with you and let Crowley in.”

“Are you sure that’s…”

“I don’t have a plan of action, Cas, I have a dying girl and a demon who can help her!”  Dean snapped, interrupting him as he turned around and looked up at Becca. “Take it down and let the bastard in.” Becca fought with herself, whether to go or stay but only for a moment before she made her way back up the stairs.  Cas stared at him in anger but it faded when he saw the pain. “You should go, to make sure she’s safe.”

“Dean…” Cas started but when he only got a sigh from the man, Cas gave up and followed Becca out.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on him,” Beth whispered, her words coming in ragged breaths.  “He cares for you.”

“Yeah, well, he’s family,” Dean replied as he reached down and brushed her cheek.  “They all get the brunt of it every now and again.”

“You get it the worst,” she smiled and turned her tired eyes on him, “stop beating yourself up over things you can’t control and let them help.”

“Easier said than done, Kid, especially when it comes to you.”  He shook his head and took a step back. Dean watched as Sam’s eyes never left her face, but as Dean paced the bunker, his thoughts seemed to catch up with him.  “Sam, what do you know?”

“That’s just it, I have no idea what she meant,” Sam shifted, placing his back against the couch as his hand held Beth’s cold one in his.  “She said I knew everything, I know nothing Dean.”

_ “The drawing,”  _ Beth interrupted him, and he turned back to her, forcing the memory onto him and Sam winced in pain.  Dean made his way over and crouched down in front of Sam as the younger brother pressed his hands against his forehead.  Dean looked up at the dull eyes that stared at him.

“Stop it, Beth, you’re hurting him!”  Dean ordered and watched as Sam slowly lowered his hands.  “What’s with you?” Like talking to a half-conscious person like that was completely normal.  Dean took Sam’s arms by the wrist. “You okay?” but Sam didn’t answer, he just stared at the table. “Sam?” Nothing.   _ “Sammy?” _

“The spell,” he spoke softly before suddenly standing.  Dean looked down at Beth, a bit confused before Sam made his way towards the back of the bunker.  

“Sam, where are you going?”  Dean followed after him, peeking back at the woman whose eyes were the only thing that trailed their movement.  Sam stopped at the bookcase, looked over the rows of old text and reached his hand out. Dean stepped up beside him, scanning over the titles but there was one that was completely out of place.  In a spot full of order, this one was just not where it should be, but only Sam would have known how to spot it. “Moby Dick?”

“Yeah, it was her favorite when we were small,” Sam whispered and traced the spine with the tips of his fingers.  “It’s not in alphabetical order.”

“So, maybe she forgot to put it back that way the last time she read it.” Dean shrugged but Sam’s eyebrows raising was his only response, a sarcastic gesture that Dean knew meant one thing. Beth never did anything that careless.  She had left it that way on purpose. “Is that dust?”

“Which means she hasn’t touched it in a very long time” Sam grabbed the book by the spine and pulled it out. 

Dean watched the questioning look on Sam’s face as he weighed the book in hand before he flipped it opened.  It was hollow, half of the interior of the pages were missing, like a little square had been cut out and a folded piece of paper was locked safely inside. With a deep breath, Sam pulled it from its hiding spot, handing the book to Dean, who looked over the symbols that graced almost each page.

“Look at this,” Sam peered down at the sigils on each page, “I wonder if she knew what she was drawing.”

“It looks like Enochian,” Sam whispered, but watched as they changed, “and Sumerian.”

“Some Greek in here too, and Celtic runes, what was she doing?”

“Protecting it,” Sam smiled, that little curve of his lip made Dean glance up.  

“From what? What’s on that paper?”

“From everything, “ he started to unfold it but stopped as he sat the top of the red outline, not the crude crayon drawings that she had started with when they first met, but a flawless crimson pencil sketch that made Sam’s heart quicken.  “It’s the spell.”

“What?”  Dean took the paper from him and instantly felt the burning on his fingers.  “Jesus!”

Sam took it back, folded it back into the small square and stuffed it in his pocket before taking Dean by the wrist to watch the tips of his fingers start to bubble.  Dean, furious that he was now in pain, stared up into the wonder-filled eyes of his baby brother.

“Oh, you think this is funny?”  

“No, but why yours and not mine?”  Sam took a deep breath, let him go and moved over to the first aid kit.

“I can help with that,” Castiel spoke up from behind Dean which gave him a little startle, and Sam watched as he rolled his eyes before turning towards the Angel.

“Really, you could have told me you were there,” Dean watched as Cas’ expression didn’t change but he reached out and placed his own hands on Dean’s letting the heat that passed between them heal the wounds.  Dean flexed his fingers and smiled back at Sam, but he still found himself staring into the Angel’s eyes as he turned around. “Look, Cas, I’m sorry for blowing up at you.”

“I understand that you are worried for Beth, I am too.”  Cas replied but made his way over to the woman as if the incident of earlier that day was nothing to him.  

Dean was totally confused, and he felt as if he wasn’t losing one friend to this, but two, because Cas was so distant. He walked past the couch and up the stairs to see Crowley standing in the living room with his mother and Becca.  With a roll of his eyes, and an exhale that basically told them that he had had enough, Dean made his way around the corner to his room where he slammed the door.

_ “Well, we both know that hiding isn’t going to get you anywhere,”  _  Beth’s voice whispered against his ear as he sat on the edge of his bed.

“Get out of my head, Beth.”  He mumbled and felt her start to pull away, “Wait!”  That tingle paused and he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

_ “You honestly think this is your fault?” _

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you,” he looked down at his hands, the ones that had been full of burn blisters just minutes before, “I’m sorry I put you in that trance with that freaking song and brought the memories back up. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to stop this in the beginning.”

_ “And you’re sorry you didn’t check the tunnels better, that you chose Cas over me when the Harpies were in your head, that you weren’t…how did you say it, what I needed.”  _  Dean closed his eyes.  _ “You know what, you’re full of crap!” _

This made his eyes fly open in shock. “Excuse me?”

_ “You are so full of yourself that I can smell it a mile away!” _

“You know, I really liked it better when you were comatose.” He argued with the voice in his head.

_ “If you think that all of that stuff means you failed, if you believe that everything you did brought us to this very moment and it’s all your fault, than get off your ass and do something about it!”  _ Dean wanted to yell at her, to give her a few hundred little comments that would send her reeling at the vulgarity of it but he knew she was right.  _ “Stop being a freaking Princess and do what you do best, Winchester, hunt! “ _

Dean stood, not angered by her words, not inspired but definitely motivated.  He felt the tingle fade as he moved through the halls, stopping to look at Crowley once again.

“She’s in the bunker,” Dean stated the obvious but no one moved.  “What’s the problem?”

“The wards in the basement can’t come off,” Becca answered.  “The demon ones are specific to Beth, only she can remove them, the angel ones, not so much.”

“Fine, we bring her up here.” Dean turned to see Sam standing in the doorway, Beth in his arms, and he gave the rest of them a shrug as if to say “see, we know what we’re doing,” but he watched the pain that crossed Sam’s face.  “Sam?”

“I’ll be right back.”  Sam placed her gently on the couch and quickly made his way back down the stairs.  Dean waited, as Becca fussed over the woman before her. When Sam returned, his face was that of someone who had just been scolded.  Dean gave him a look, just one look and Sam turned the flannel, exposing the hole in the back of it, one that went right through to the t-shirt underneath.  “Apparently, it’s meant to stay in the basement.”

“I get that,” Dean watched as Becca whispered over Beth, as Crowley wandered the living room and kitchen taking in the feel of the house, “hey, don’t touch anything!”

Crowley walked casually up to Dean and smiled, “I’m just amazed at how one woman can domesticate you so quickly, how hard is her grip on your…”

“Remind me to chop your head off when this is done,” Dean sneered and Becca walked over to stand between them.

“When you two are done comparing your stones, would you mind helping out the one reason you’re both here?”  She questioned and watched as Crowley moved over towards the couch. Dean’s anger was showing and Becca grabbed him by the chin, tugging him down just a bit so his eyes were level with hers.  “Cut the crap, Winchester and get over there. She’s yours too, but just because that ring is on her finger, doesn’t mean she isn’t part of a larger family, and everyone has their demons!”

“So, what do we do next?”  Sam watched as Dean stood at the head of the couch and glanced around at the cast of characters in the room, but no one moved.  “Okay, so Hera said it was a Wither, something that was released because she was able to crack the spell.”

“Wait, a Wither?”  Becca questioned and watched him nod.  The brown-haired woman disappeared into the basement and came back with a thick book.  She knelt down at the coffee table as Sam stood by Dean, who had reached down to let his fingers trail across Beth’s forehead.  “This is good.”

“A Wither is good?”  Dean asked sarcastically.

“Well, no, not really,” Becca shrugged but continued to read the book, “it can be removed pretty easily, we just need five people.”

“Done,” Sam answered as he looked around, “what next.”

“We need someone to take it on, someone whose love is absolute and only that person can get rid of it by expelling it out into the world.”  Becca looked up at both Sam and Dean.

“So we cast it out of her, only to take it on ourselves?  What happens when you expel it? Does it go into someone else?”  Dean just rattled off the questions and he glanced at his brother.

“According to this, it just dissipates.  Without a body, a Wither can’t do any harm.”  Becca felt that there was something missing from the explanation but she let it slide for the moment.  “Everything we need is here, we just need to get it together.”

“Wonderful, you jolly bunch of heroes collect what you need and I’ll look around outside.” Crowley spoke up as he headed for the door.

“Believe it or not, we need you.”  Becca stated and watched as he slowly turned in his spot to stare at her.  “The spell calls for five people, Beth doesn’t know Mary enough for it to work with her and the wording is well, pretty specific.”

“You want me to play with a Wither?”  Crowley looked as if it was the last thing he ever wanted to do but he shrugged off his overcoat and placed it on the chair before he looked down at the form on the couch and he addressed Beth quietly.  “I said I would do anything for you, but don’t you think you’re pushing the line a little, Angel?”

“We need to move her to the floor,” Becca ordered and looked at Cas, “can you move the coffee table?”  Cas nodded and did as told while she stood and looked at Sam and Dean. “I need every root and herb you can find in that storage room,” Sam hesitated for a moment, looking down at Beth, but Dean was at the top of the bunker stairs.  “You know, Mary can go with Dean, Sam, you don’t have to leave her.”

“Yeah,” he whispered and glanced up at his mother who headed towards her oldest son.  Sam squatted down beside the head of the couch, and rested his arms against it as his fingers began to caress her cold face.  

Becca knelt down beside him, getting closer to his ear as she did so that no one else would hear what she had to say.  “The spells calls for a memory, one so deep from the person taking on the Wither that they refuse to give it up.” Sam sat back and turned to look at her, uncertainty in his eyes.  “You have one of those, Sam, I know you do, because this,” she patted the burn on the pocket of his shirt, “this wouldn’t have happened if you knew what you were looking at.”

“I know what it is,” he answered and turned back to Beth.

“Yeah, you do,” she rubbed his back gently, “and you know what it does, but that part of the secret won’t come out.”

“I have no idea what it does, Bec,” Sam shook his head.

“Not yet you don’t.”  She stood and walked away.  Sam sighed, and placed his chin on his arm. 

 

Beth lay on the floor, a pentagram drawn beneath her body and all of them watched as Becca drew on her skin.  Once on each leg, wrist and right on her forehead with a sharpie. The herbs were mixed in a bowl and filled the house with a fragrance that wouldn’t come out for months after the spell was complete but none of them cared.

The darkness under Beth’s eyes was growing deeper and the blue had returned to her lips once again. Dean tried to turn away, thinking of the water nymph that they had battled and the price that had come with it, but he stared down at her face as Becca stood.  

“I need Cas at her left leg, Crowley at her right, Dean by her right arm and Sam, you need to be at the top of her head.”  All of them took their positions as Becca grabbed the book and knelt by her left arm. “When I say the words you need to grab ahold of her bare skin.”  Crowley cleared his throat as he looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. Becca’s scowl made him adjust his position and do what he was told. “This is Latin, and I’m sure you will get the meanings but whatever you do, don’t let go.”

“Do it, Becca,” Dean whispered and watched as she looked down at the book.

“Quibus verbis, ut intra Wither abjicit, manibus et corde tenemus avio ambulare non semper simul,” She looked over at Cas to start and he put his hand on her leg, “semper oportet,” then at Crowley, “semper fortis.”  She put her hand on Beth and could feel the charge, “semper discere,” and she smiled at Dean, who breathed in and held her tightly, “semper amabo.” Dean’s heart filled with pain as he projected his love towards her and Becca turned to Sam, as he placed his hand against her head. “Bellum semper!”

Sam felt the rush of the power inside Beth and it moved like a heat up his arms until it filled his head with such fire that he opened his eyes widely, trying to get it out, hoping to release it somehow but he knew the reason why it hurt so much.  He had to let that memory go.

 

He stood watching her, like he always did but this time he stepped closer and took the book from her.  Beth gave it up without any fight, but only because it was him. Sam turned the picture around so he could see it better. The Grand Pentacle was drawn in the middle of the paper, the lines were so solid that there was no mistaking what it was but the language was off.  In fact, it was Greek. He noticed the symbols in the corners, the ones that signified Zeus, Poseidon and Hades but it was the small one in the corner that got him.

“Wings?” He questioned and watched as she smiled, not saying a word as his finger traced the sigils on the outside.  

They were ones that covered a multitude of different religions, different beliefs and he stopped at the one that he knew all too well. There was no way this was supposed to be there, no way that she could have seen this in a seven-hundred year old book, but there it was staring back at him. He wasn’t that little boy in the memory anymore, he was Sam, thirty-five, six-foot plus Sam and that symbol told him everything he needed to know about this counterspell.

Beth smiled and let it all go as Sam found himself back in the room with the others.  

 

His stomach heaved as he stood from his spot, releasing the woman below him and Dean watched as he ran for the door.

“SAM!” his brother yelled after him but Sam had no choice but to keep going.

In the middle of the field, as he dropped to his knees, Sam closed his eyes and opened his arms as the heat rushed from his body.  Dean stopped dead in his tracks, watching as the wind kicked up and Sam, who should have been freezing just knelt in the snow. A blast of bright light had Dean’s arm come up to block his eyes but as it faded, he ran for his brother.

Sam fell forward towards the cold hard ground, his arms out to brace his fall and Dean placed his own under his brother, helping him to his feet.  With one arm around his shoulder, Dean moved towards the house. Cas came closer, grabbing Sam by the other side and the two of them managed to get him back in before the shivers took him over and his lips turned another shade of color.

They released him on the couch but he slid to the floor as Dean covered him in blankets.  Beth was turned on her side, the paleness of her skin had disappeared and the color had returned to her eyes. The bags were still there, nothing but sleep would change them but she was awake and alert.  Sam didn’t care about the way the rug looked, he scooted over and pulled her into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her as his pulled her against him.

 

“Is my work here done?  Can I go now?” Crowley questioned, which got a strange look from Dean.

“No, you can explain how the hell you knew about the song!” Dean snapped and they moved into the kitchen as Sam placed his head back on the couch, letting Beth curl up against his chest.  “We know Paul used it to cover up the conversations about the spell but why exactly would you come to Beth afterwards?”

“Wait, you were the black angel?”  Becca questioned.

“I see you’re still on the ball,” Crowley winked, which in itself was disturbing to see but Dean shrugged it off.  “Yes, I was the angel, or demon that kept her safe.”

“That didn’t answer my question.” Dean growled.

“Timing, my dear darling,” Crowley smiled. “I knew there was something attached to that damned spell but there was no way a child was going to be able to fight it.  She didn’t need any more than she could handle.”

“Okay, wait, you were protecting her from what?”  Mary questioned, seeing the dynamics of the situation.  “She was a child, what harm could she have possibly done?”

“You didn’t notice,” Crowley stated as he stared at Dean.  “You never even bothered to look right at the bigger picture.  Paul didn’t play the song to keep her from hearing just anything, he played it so that she couldn’t hear what they were planning on doing to her.”  Crowley watched as Dean scowled. “She was their sacrifice, you moron!”

“Sacrifice, for what?”  Becca watched him smile as he opened his arms and gestured to the world.  

“For what you’ve been fighting for the last year, for what she was destined to become, for the very thing she is now.”  Crowley glared down at her, “a weapon against the Olympians.”

“They wanted to kill her so that she wouldn’t be able to stand up to them?”  Castiel whispered. 

“How do you think she got lost in the tunnels?”  He replied and saw the fingers of Dean’s hands white knuckle as his anger grew.  “I kept her from that funeral pyre that night, I kept her safe, even if that meant keeping  her away from the two things she loved most in this world. I fueled the rage, stoked the flames of the hunter she was destined to become and I took every precaution to make sure she came out of this alive.”

“You call that saving her life?” Dean whispered and shook his head.  “She has nightmares about the bloody things  _ you _ made her do.”

“And tell me that she isn’t a better hunter for it.  She survived where you two Neanderthals have failed. She managed to keep herself alive while everyone around you died.  No apocalypse, no end of the world, no Devil’s Gate!” Crowley stepped up to Dean and looked him straight in the eyes. “How do you think she managed to avoid all that destruction without getting in the middle of it?  I…did that…for her!”

“Bravo,” Dean said sarcastically and reached for the Demon Blade on the side of his hip.  “Everyone deserves a cookie!”

“Please, just stop!” Beth spoke up and the group turned to see her leaning against the couch, supported by Sam, who was still wrapped with a blanket.  “The fighting isn’t helping, it’s just going to give it more power. We know what the spell contains, and we need to make sure that the counter spell is set in motion, there’s no other way to stop it, not now.”

“You can’t go running in head first, Angel,” Crowley whispered as he stepped closer to her but the smile on her face told him that was exactly what she was about to do.  “Everything I taught you, everything we’ve been through and you’re going to throw it away for these two.”

“Not just these two,” she licked her dry lips as she approached him and Dean watched her grab his black suit jacket.  “For you,” she turned to Cas, not letting go of the man in front of him, “him,” Becca gave her a slight smile as her eyes met Beth’s, “her, Mary, “ she turned to Dean. “Him,” but her weary eyes rested on Crowley’s, “for family, Crowley, family.”

“I will not sit idly by and watch you take on this power.”  He grumbled, but it was a quiet tone, like a father who was protective of his daughter.

“I’m not fighting alone,” she smiled and looked at the people around her before stopping on him.  “I have you, all of you.” She raised her hands and looked at the inside of her wrists, “love, bravery, knowledge, need and the ability to always keep fighting.”

“Bullocks!”  Crowley yelled and stepped away from her, showing them a side of him that no one had ever seen, the parental side, the caring father side and Beth smiled.  She wasn’t just his Angel, his saving grace that pulled him from hell, she was his and that infuriated him more than anything. Crowley came back at her and stared her down, his face less than an inch from hers, and he shook his head.  “I don’t give my blessing, Angel, not for one, and not certainly not for both!”

Crowley grabbed her left hand and held it up so that everyone could see the silver ring she wore as Dean got ready to fight, but Sam grabbed his arm, waiting for the words.

“If they hurt you, I will kill them,” his stone cold eyes stared up at Sam and Dean, “I swear!” Beth smiled as he disappeared, and her arm dropped to her side. 

“What the hell was that?”  Becca questioned as she stepped close enough so that she could whisper in her ear. Sam smiled, moving over to wrap his arms around Beth, supporting her against him.

“Crowley’s way of congratulating,” Beth whispered and looked at her friend.  “He couldn’t have gone far, the wards will keep him on the property. Maybe you should go and find him.” Becca looked at her with a strangeness that only meant trouble, but Beth glanced around.  “I think I need a shower,” her head rested back against Sam. “It’s been a long day and someone wrote on my head with a sharpie!”

 

Beth sat in the tub, the hot water warming the chill that had passed through every bone in her body, with her knees to her chest and Sam poured the hot liquid over her back.  She had her hair up in a bun, and as she looked down at her wrist, she could tell the writing was starting to come off.

“Always love, always keep fighting,” she whispered, smiling as she turned her head just as bit to look at him.  Sam handed her the washcloth and soap. “I think I might keep those two.”

“On your forehead?” He asked sarcastically and let her turn in the tub so that he could see her.  With a sigh, not for any particular reason, he took back what he gave her, rubbed the soap into the harsh fabric and gently began to remove the ink from her skin just above her eyes.  She closed her lids tight and let the feel of the hand that braced her neck take over her. “Beth, what I saw on that spell…”

“I know,” she whispered, hoping that he would drop the subject but as the water poured down her face she held her breath.  Sam dried her eyes with a towel, placed his hands in the water and let her stare at him with those blue eyes. 

“How?”  He questioned and watched as she shrugged.

“How is why we do what we do, Sam,” Beth took his hands in hers, playing with his fingers under the water.  “How are the monsters in the closet real? How can ghosts be taken care of by salt and fire? How can the King of Hell and an Angel of the Lord fight the same battle?  How can hunters fall in love when their lives are so full of pain and death?”

“Getting a little deep there, don’t you think?”  Dean questioned and Beth looked up, ushering him in and Dean closed the door behind him.  Sam laughed as his brother found a spot on the closed toilet seat, moving the bra that was hanging over the edge.  “You shouldn’t be asking how, you should be asking why not?”

“Oh, God, I think that spell backfired.” Beth groaned, winking as she backed away from the towel in Sam’s hands.  “I think Becca gave him the knowledge one.”

“Mine said love, Smartass!”  Dean snickered and sat forward, his arms against his knees.  “What I meant was why not about the love.”

“Oh, so it did work, and now you are all happy, go pansy and want to dance in the flowers?”  Beth shook her head. “I wasn’t being deep Dean, I was just asking it, because it’s “why” we do what we do.”

“Well, what you and Sam do, I’m just the third wheel in the party.”  Dean grinned and felt the water that Beth splashed at him. “Hey, knock it off.”

“So pow-wow in the bathroom, nice.” Sam intervened and shot a look between the two of them. “Can we talk about the counterspell?”

“Can we talk about Crowley?”  Dean questioned. “His blessing?”

“I guess he finds himself a little fatherly today.”  Beth smiled.

“It’s a good thing he’s not in here than, he wouldn’t be happy about this at all.”  Dean chuckled and watched Sam’s lip turn up in a half grin. “So, the spell, what did you see?”

“Where did Bobby get the anti-possession symbols he gave us?”  Sam questioned but watched as Dean just shrugged. 

“Something that was passed down to him.  You remember all those books he had, he could have pulled it out of anyone of them.”  Dean sat back and watched as Beth put her cheek to her knee, which made Dean get down on the floor next to her and take the cloth from Sam.  She closed her eyes as he gently rubbed the marker on her forehead. “Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Your tattoo, her tattoo,” Sam started off, “they were both on the page, her wings, our anti-possession but not in the same spot.”

“So, the North Wind is involved in the spell, but hunters are on the outside?”  Dean whispered, as Sam turned on the overhead fan, and the hot water to warm up the tub.

“Me on the inside, the two of you trying to get in,” Beth mumbled as Dean moved the wet strains of hair from her cheek.  “Good to know.”

“We’re not letting you go into this alone.”  Sam stared up at his brother, who had met his eyes and nodded.  “If you go in, we go with you.”

“Obviously,” she replied and let one of them rinse the soap off before she opened her lids and met their stares.  “The spell is in the bunker, no one can get it out. We could always look at it again, but Sam and I know it like the back of our hands.  I know this because he watched me draw it a thousand times.”

“Was that the secret you wouldn’t let go of?”  Dean questioned and watched Sam give him a kind-of yes nod.  “So, like she said, we do what we do best, we hunt, and we find this bastard and we blow him away.”

“Easier said than done,” Beth interrupted, sitting up as Sam reached for the water again.  “Sure, we know where he is, but he’s had years to prepare for this…decades. The wards around him have to be impenetrable.  There’s no way he’s going to let an angel and a demon in, let alone a witch and let us keep what we can do.”

“We’re not powerless, Beth,” Sam whispered, as he went back and forth, “we’re hunters, and we’ve been doing this for years without powers, without the others.  This we can get through as long as we stay together.” 

“A trio, again,” Beth smiled and watched as Sam reached out his hand, gently sliding his fingers down her bare back as Dean moved the hair from her forehead.

 

Becca pulled the coat tighter around her as she walked up to Crowley.  He was standing no less than ten feet from the barrier line on the furthest side of the property but he had heard her as soon as she left the house. And he dreaded the conversation that came next.  She walked up and stood beside him, looking out into the woods.

“I wish I could let you go,” Becca whispered, not looking at him, not changing her stance, just looking out into the woods.

“No you don’t,” Crowley replied and turned his head to look at her.  “You think keeping me here is going to help those boys, so you just go along with the mayhem as usual.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she turned this time, her eyes connected with his.  “I meant really let you go, so that I can move on, so that I can be with someone else.”

“I’m not holding onto you,” he looked back at the scene in front of him, giving her the cold shoulder.

“That’s what your mouth says, but your thoughts say something completely different.”  

Crowley sighed, hating to be one-upped, especially by a witch, and one like Becca.  “You should let me go, Rebecca, he’s better for you than I will ever be.”

She smiled and shook her head, “if it were ever that easy, don’t you think I would have done it long ago?  Like the last time you left her on my doorstep, without a word of goodbye or “hey, I’m going to go rule over Hell now”.”

“I loved you, how was I supposed to tell you something that dark?”  Crowley turned completely towards her and watched the profile of her face.  

“You have a funny way of showing love,” her glaring eyes connected with his as he held up a hand to touch her but only clenched it into a fist.  

“Demon,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, so you keep telling everyone,” she smiled, “but, I’m not fooled by it.  I know you better than anyone in that house, probably better than Beth…or maybe not her, but there is something keeping you here and it’s not me, or this spell and you know it.”

“You’re right,” he grinned menacingly, “I could take down your barriers with a snap of my fingers but I won’t.”

“I would just put them back up.”

“This isn’t a game, Rebecca.”  Crowley rubbed his eyebrows. “If I bring them down, yes, you have to put them up, and that means you have to use your abilities, which leaves you vulnerable.  That I won’t do.”

“Oh, so it’s for me?”  Becca turned towards the house, ready to walk away but Crowley wrapped his hand gently around her upper arm and pulled her close to him, his lips a kiss away from her ear. 

“I won’t do anything, ever, to put you in harm’s way.” He spoke softly, not his usual tone of voice, not one that she had heard in ages but as she turned to look at him, his eyes connected with hers.  “You are more precious than gold, don’t ever think that I don’t want you, but you should be with him.”

Becca sighed, feeling him close and shook her head.  “If that’s what you really want, you should probably let me go now.”

He held on for a moment more, but his fingers slowly released their grip and he could almost hear Becca’s heart skip as he finally dropped his hand from her am.  She shook her head, released his stare and walked off towards the house one more time.

How had he become so entangled in the lives of these five characters?  First Beth and Becca, then Sam and Dean and lastly Castiel had become more than just an annoying angel.  They had become a crazy dysfunctional family and Crowley hated himself for letting it get that far, but as he watched Becca walk away, he couldn’t help but feel the strange sense of protectiveness that flowed through him.

The war was about to begin and these…children…had won every battle up to this point, not without their scars or heartbreak.  He knew that there was no way he could walk away and let them fend for themselves, not when so much was riding on the win. With one last glance at the woman whose every step brought her away, Crowley turned and watched the tree line.

 

Sam stood on one side of the counter, Dean on the other, and they watched as Beth brought the book to them.  She had drawn some of the runes from the book on the countertop, which made Dean smile because everything in the house seemed to be scarred by something now.

With a deep breath, she flipped through the book and retrieved the paper, once it was out of its box, she let it sit in the middle of the runes for only a moment before unfolding it.  Her heart raced as she did so and the song in her head hummed through her lips but neither of the men beside her dared to touch her, especially with that spell in her hand.

“Just… don’t move!” Beth whispered as she unfolded the damned thing and placed it on the counter.  For the first time, all three of them saw it in one piece, the red outlines, thick with the crimson color of blood, with a series of Enochian letters, Celtic runes and the tattoo they had all adorned at one time hiding within its frame, but it was the Grand Pentacle inside that made Dean feel uneasy.  

The words were no longer the ones he remembered, replaced by something ancient, something that it seemed only Beth understood, and she licked her lips, tracing it with her fingers.  She pointed out the Gods in the upper corners.

“Zeus is gone, according to Hebe, but Poseidon and Hades are still kicking around otherwise we would have more of a zombie apocalypse on our hands.”  Beth watched the smile that crossed Dean’s face. “You think zombies are funny?”

“The idea of zombies is funny,” Dean smiled, and crossed his arms.  “And by funny, I mean, come on, you can get away with offing your neighbor because he looks at you like your dinner, that’s pretty funny.”

“He’s like a big freaking kid!” Beth swore under her breath, which got a chuckle from Sam.  “The last one,” she tapped on the paper, “is pretty obvious. It’s a Winder.”

“That doesn’t make it you!”  Dean snapped, the smile disappearing from his face, but she pointed at a book on the other side of Dean.

“Give me that one,” she asked placed it down beside him, flipping through the pages.  “Each Wind has its own type of wings, even its own color,” she stopped and looked a page with the four of them on it and the father of the winds.  “Which one does that look like to you?” Dean looked closer at the picture and then slammed the book shut. “The East Winders never intended to open Tartarus, they wanted to make sure that the option was never there to begin with.”

“By killing you,” Sam shook his head and glanced down at the paper.  “If this is a counter spell, how exactly does it work?”

“Easy enough,” she shrugged and traced the words with her fingers. “When each of the elements has met its time, the Olympians will meet their demise.”

“So you have die?”  Sam watched as Dean closed his eyes.

“No,” she answered and both of them stared at her. “A sacrifice has to be made, my time doesn’t necessarily mean death, just means I have to give something up, which is why you two will be nowhere around when the end of this thing goes down.”

“Exactly how do you expect that to happen?”  Dean wondered. “There is no way we’re leaving you with a bunch of psychos.”

“What else would I have to give up, Dean?” She watched the frustration in his eyes, “You and Sam, you’re the only things that I would give up my life for.  Becca and Cas, I have no intention of having them even know where the hell this place is. Do you see my point?”

“You won’t trade us for your own life, got it.”  Dean started to walk away but Beth, being frustrated enough with the whole deal, decided to follow.

“No, you don’t get it, Dean!”  Her voice rose as he made his way towards the fireplace with her right behind.  “You don’t get it at all.”

“Then explain it to me, Beth, because I’m at a complete loss,” he snapped as he turned towards her and watched as she stopped. He could see her breathing was heavy and she wasn’t sure she wanted to even let the words out but he was giving her no other choice.

“When I was five, a boy and his brother walked into my life.  I had nothing left, nothing.” She watched as Dean looked up at the weapons that lined the wall.  “I had lost my mother, my brother and my life had fallen apart, at four-years-old. I was lost, completely and utterly lost.  I didn’t want to be touched, I couldn’t stand the thought of another person putting their hands on me, loving me, holding me and then this pain in the ass and his younger brother just happened to stumble into my living room and something sparked.”  Beth smiled and looked down at her hands. “I touched the cheek of some little brown-haired boy and suddenly I was alive, I held the hand of his brother and my world was full of color, of love. So yeah, I would give my life for the two of you because, damn it Dean, before you, I didn’t have one.”

“It doesn’t mean you can give it up for something as petty as the Olympians.”  He stated. 

“I have no intention of giving it up,” she smiled and watched as he stepped back, “I have every intention of holding life by the balls and battling on through every fight but I want to make sure that you and Sam are safe.”

“We’re big boys, Beth,” Dean whispered as he stepped forward and kissed her on the forehead.  “I think we got this.”

Dean left his lips there just a little longer than he had wanted, breathing in everything about her and suddenly he left, heading towards the stairs. Sam watched as Beth walked back over and folded up the paper.  He knew what Dean was feeling, he felt the same way, but this was Beth, she always knew what she was doing, at least he hoped. He watched as she slipped it back in the book and placed the book back in it’s spot on the shelf but when she turned, she found Sam standing right behind her and her arms wrapped around him.

With everything he had, he pulled her tightly to him, holding her as close as he could and felt the shivers pass through her body.  He had never felt fear from her before, not like the one that passed through her now but she quickly backed away as the entire bunker shook.

“What the hell?”  Sam questioned as Dean came flying down the stairs, sliding to a stop as he looked at the two of them.  Another blast closer to the house made the walls shake. “What’s going on?”

“DEAN!”  Mary yelled and the three of them made their way up to the first floor.  Crowley stood in the living room, Cas beside him, with Becca protectively placed in the middle as Dean gently moved Mary behind him and he, Sam and Beth watched the tree line.  

The next explosion was closer and a wave of magic imploded towards the house.  Beth placed her hand on the glass as the aftershock shook her body. That was three of the ten that surrounded the outer perimeter of the property.

She turned and stared at the people in the living room before then next shock came through.  

“Into the bunker!”  Sam watched as Becca, Cas and Mary went through but Crowley stopped and looked at her.  

Beth took his hand, swallowed and ran her finger over the palm, whispering something completely inaudible before pushing him over the threshold.  He looked back at her, and concern filled his eyes, before he disappeared into the darkness.

She turned back to the windows and shook her head, glancing at Sam and Dean.  

“We need to get down there too,” she whispered as the next wave hit.

“What’s going on?”  Dean wasn’t confused; he knew just what was happening outside but the why wasn’t evident.

“The barriers are coming down,” Beth answered and watched the shimmer of light move across the lawn, “The Olympians are coming.” 


	21. Of God and Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The barriers are falling, so the only way to stay safe is for the group to band together and stop it, but what kind of sacrifice is that going to take.

Of Gods and Men

SPN FanFic #21

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary, Crowley and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

Beth faced the windows, hearing the sounds of the barriers as they broke down. It had started out in the bunkers as a loud boom that shook the walls and now she stood watching the waves of power that pushed at the inner wards that surrounded the house.  There was no way this was going to end well! There were ten magical walls that surrounded the outer perimeter of the property, ten powerful wards that whatever God this was just bowled right through. Beth shook her head, if the outer walls fell, it was only a matter of time before the inner wards went just as quickly and Beth turned, glancing at Sam and Dean.  

“We need to get down there too,” she whispered as the next wave crashed into the house, shaking the floor beneath her.  Her eyes focused on the shack, the small wooden reminder of her childhood and watched as the power never touched it. It didn’t even sway against the aftershocks, which gave her hope for the house.

“What’s going on?”  Dean knew just what was happening outside, but the why wasn’t evident. His hunter’s instincts were to lock, load and go.  These monsters were the things the boys had been chasing all their lives but the fact that he couldn’t see them sent wave of anger through him.  He loved a fair fight, but this was dirty.

“The barriers are coming down,” Beth answered and watched the shimmer of light move across the lawn, as she stepped back against Sam, feeling his hands on her shoulders.  “The Olympians are coming.”

 

Sam moved down first, with Beth close to his heels as Dean brought up the rear and closed the door securely behind him.  The others in the basement turned and watched as they moved, all stoic and deep in thought. With a sigh, Beth listened to the lock click and made her way to the back of the room.  She pushed on a panel, watched as it slowly rose to reveal a monitor and clicked it on. The nine-screen split gave her a view of the property, except for four areas, ones that had been taken out by the blasts.

“I thought you said this place was invisible.”  Mary spoke up.

“This place,” Beth said and pointed to the ground beneath her feet, “these four walls are invisible to everything, the grounds and the house above, not so much.”  She watched as Cas came over and stood by her, staring at the monitors. “I can’t even make out what they are.”

“I don’t see anything on these screens, and there isn’t a power that penetrates enough to pinpoint which direction they’re coming in.”  Cas answered and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We should prepare for the worst.”

“Five walls?”  Crowley spoke up and moved over to the counter, where he grabbed a glass and a bottle of whiskey, poured himself a drink and shook his head.  “What kind of half-assed job was done to put up wards when five of them have come down so fast?”

“Actually, it was a half-assed job!”  Becca replied, her emotions flaring as she turned to him.  “These walls, the outer barriers have only been up for a few years, the closer you get to the house, the harder they get to crack, but we didn’t need wards this large before, not until recently.”

“We spent fifteen years protecting the bunker, the shack, which is the reason no one, Angel, Demon, Olympian, or otherwise can enter.” Beth crossed her arms, but her voice was void of emotions and turned towards the others in the room.  “The outer barriers weren’t our priority, this place was, so yeah it was a crap job, but it was done.”

“The question isn’t the job, but what are we going to do when they get here,” Sam intervened, stepping between them in the room as Dean gestured in disapproval and sat down on the stairway.  “We don’t know what’s coming, or the numbers and that is definitely something we need to find out.”

“What do you suggest?”  Cas questioned and Dean looked up.

“A recon mission,” his voice was low, his eyes rolled at the thought of it, but Dean knew it was the only way. 

“What kind of moron are you?”  Crowley snapped and Dean was on his feet in seconds, standing before the growling King of Hell.  

“I’m trying to protect the one person these bastards are coming for,” Dean answered his eyes staring down the Demon, “if you can think of a better way, feel free to open your piehole and say it!”

“Enough!”  Beth sighed and stepped between them, her back against Dean, feeling the heat of his chest against her shoulders as she pressed back on him, but her eyes looked up at the man that was quickly becoming a pain in her ass.  “He’s right, the only way to know is to go out there.”

“And I suppose that you are volunteering?”  Crowley growled, his voice quiet as he leaned in towards her.

“Dean and I know these woods like the back of our hands, besides Sam and Becca, who else do you think is fit for this job?”  Beth waited for an answer and watched the man in black take a step back, before she turned to the others, specifically to Sam, who had crossed his arms.  She watched as he thought over the plan and raised his brows.

“She’s right,” Sam admitted, but his frustration was clear in his voice. “What the two of them can do together is nothing that any of us can match.”

“What are you talking about?”  Mary questioned.

“I told you before, Dean makes Beth a better hunter, they have the same way of doing things, the same connection.  Dean brings out the hunter’s side though the connection and Beth brings out his.” Sam gave a small grin as he watched her, still pressed against Dean, holding him at bay and keeping him grounded.  “And they can move through these woods like they’re invisible.”

“How do you know?”  Sam turned to his mother, but he didn’t know how to explain it, and just shrugged.

“I just do.”  With that Sam walked away, towards the back bedroom.  Dean placed his hands on Beth’s shoulders and rubbed them gently before walking off after him.  

 

Dean closed the door behind him as he watched Sam pace the room, his head down and arms hugging his chest tightly.

“Hey,” Dean spoke up, catching his brother’s eye, “are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Do I have a choice?”  

“Of course you do, Sam!”  Dean snapped and stepped forward.  “You’re just as good out there with her and you know this place too.”

“No, I’m not,” Sam stopped, faced Dean and shook his head.  “I meant what I said, you make her a better hunter, you bring out that instinct.”

“I don’t bring out anything in her, she does that on her own.” 

“There’s no one else I trust more than you.”  

“Come on, Sam,” Dean knew his brother was holding something in and he watched.  Finally, Sam broke and sat down on the bed.

“I thought we’d have more time,” he took a big breath in and shook his head.  “There’s so much more to this spell and we don’t know half of it, so why now? Why attack the bunker now?”

“I don’t know, because they’re douchebag Gods, that’s why!” Sam raised his eyes to look at him.  “Who cares? It doesn’t matter why now, what matters is we have a bunker full of people to protect and you know just as well as I do that we’re the only ones for the job.”

“I’m tired of being the only ones!  I’m tired of the job, Dean!” Sam admitted.  “I’m finally happy, you’re finally happy and we have a beautiful girl…a wife.”

“Which sounds really awkward when you said it like that,” Dean smiled.

“The point is, couldn’t we just stop and live our lives with her?”

“Yeah, you think stepping out of hunting is going to work?” Sam stopped for a minute and Dean watched his eyes become deep in thought.  “Yeah, you have to think about that one, of the times we stopped because one of us died or was stuck in Purgatory, or because, hell, I don’t know, we just needed a break.  What did that get us? Dragged right back in because someone, somewhere needed help with just one more job!”

“I get it,” Sam stressed and shook his head, “but she’s everything, Dean.  I don’t know what I would do if I lost her.”

“You would keep fighting, keep hunting, Sam, because that’s what you do, that’s what we do.” Dean smiled. “The family business.”

Sam nodded, just slightly and exchanged a look with Dean, one that almost said he was right but Sam would never admit that, not out loud anyway.  Dean just turned and left the room closing the door behind him, but as he stepped up next to Cas, he noticed that the angel was watching the interaction between Crowley and Beth in the kitchen.

 

They stood face to face, not more than a foot apart but the eye contact closed that distance without much more than a blink.  Beth’s face wasn’t angry, she was just annoyed but the look on Crowley’s told another story. He was beyond pissed off, and it seemed to show in every fiber of his stance.

“You can’t go hauling off with Dean into the woods to play Cowboys and Indians with a bunch of Gods when you don’t even know what you’re up against!”  Crowley’s voice growled as he kept his tone low enough so that the others in the room didn’t notice his concern.

“What would you like me to do?”  Beth asked, and watched as he stepped aside so that his back was to those onlookers, and Beth’s face was blocked from the stares.  “You taught me to fight, how to survive, how to be silent, Crowley, and if this wasn’t what I was meant to do, why exactly did you do that?”

“So that you would live, not throw your life away on some pretty boy’s lame ass plan of getting you killed.”

“You don’t seem to have a better one, so this is it, this is what we work with.”  Beth leaned back against the counter and sighed. “I know it’s not ideal…”

“None of this is ideal, Angel, it’s a war.”

“Then let me fight it,” her eyes connected with is once again and Crowley saw the determination in them.  “Let me go, Crowley. I’m not that girl anymore.”

“You will always be  _ that _ girl, Peterson.”  He growled with emotions that he wished had never escaped his lips.  “And I swear if you die, I will pull you out of Hell so quickly, your soul will have permanent whiplash!”

Beth smiled as Crowley turned and sulked off to the counter, where he poured another glass of the strong stuff.  Dean, a bit confused at the expression on her face watched as Beth took a peek in Crowley’s direction before she moved across the floor to where he and Cas stood.

“Is Sam okay?”  She questioned, and watched as Dean looked back at the room.

“No, probably not.” At least he was honest. “He’s just being his usual teenage girlie self.”

“Okay, I get it.” Beth smiled and watched the love in Dean’s eyes for his brother.  “I’ll check on him, you need to go up and get the crossbow from the closet.”

“Why me?” 

“I could go up, but I have to walk by a giant bay window and the result may be an Adam bomb sized explosion as they try to take me out, so “why you” has a fairly simple answer, because I can’t.” She smiled, patted him on the chest and walked by.  

Dean loved the sarcasm in her voice and caught her arm gently, letting his fingers slide down it until he reached her fingers as she walked away. She heard his sigh as the connection broke and she stepped up in front of the door to the room.  

 

With a slow turn of the handle, she moved into the small bedroom and locked it tightly behind her.  Sam was still sitting on the bed when she turned to look at him.

“We’ve been in worse corners,” she said as she walked over.  Sam sat up, taking his elbows from his knees as she stood in front of him.  He reached out, grasped her hips and pulled her down to straddle his lap before wrapping his arms around her waist, not hugging her but making sure she couldn’t go anywhere.  “Is this really bothering you that much?”

“You can’t tell?” Sam whispered, staring down into her eyes.

“You’re kidding right?  I can feel it flowing off from you like a freaking heat lamp, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to ask.” Beth touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers, running them along his jawline as he closed his eyes, and she could almost hear the words at the edge of his mind, “one last time”, which made her stop and put her whole palm against one side, while she put the other on his neck.  Sam opened his eyes slowly, letting her see them shine with emotions as he tried to breathe. “There will never be a one last time, Sam, never one last kiss, never one last look…never.” She felt his chest shiver as he let out a breath. “Tell me you believe me.”

“I believe in you, Beth,” he whispered, his hand unlocked from her waist and he placed it gently on the back of her head, tangling it in her hair.  “I love you.”

Without waiting for a response, he pulled her in, his lips crushing down on hers as the emotion demanded a response, one that Beth was eager to give as the hard kiss eased into a soft, passionate embrace.

 

Dean rolled his eyes, reaching a hand out to the couch as the stir of emotions ran through him.  He hated himself at that very moment for even suggesting that they go into a room alone. He knew what would happen if he did it, yet he still allowed it to happen and now he was about to kick himself in the ass for it.  With love sick and droopy eyes that were filled with lust and a torrid sea of emotions, Dean looked up at Becca, pleading for help and slowly she moved closer to him, watching as he crouched down on the floor. 

Mary looked on in concern as Becca, smiling from ear to ear, did the same, crouching down to his level and leaned closer to his ear.

“Just breathe through it,” she giggled and watched as his green eyes met hers, a sheet of agitation covering the sex-filled emotions underneath.

“Have you ever felt what it’s like?”  Dean grumbled, trying to keep the moan from escaping his mouth as he whispered.  “Remind me to kill them when they’re done.”

“Shut up!  You like it, admit it,” Becca smiled and watched as Dean rolled his eyes.  

There was no way he was admitting that much to her, especially out loud in a room full of people. He listened to her whisper something inaudible in Latin, the language he recognized, the words not so much but when she pressed her fingers against his forehead, and ran them over him in some sort of sigil, the vibrations from the room became just a small echo of what they were and Dean was able to move.

“Where the hell was that little trick when this thing started?”  Dean questioned, his voice back to its normal sarcastic tone.

“Trust me, with the power the three of you are bouncing around this place, it’s not going to last very long, so I suggest you bark out whatever orders you need to before it kicks back in and you have to run for a cold shower.”  Becca laughed and stood, but Dean only sneered at her, checked to see if the evidence of his reaction was gone and finally stood.

Cas looked at him questioningly before turning back to Becca, who kissed the Angel softly on the lips before walking away.  Dean gave Cas one look, one simple “don’t even ask” look before he turned and made his way towards the panel at the end of the room.

“Okay, what was that?”  Mary popped the question and Dean grinned, shaking his head and very happy that they had soundproofed the rooms in the bunker as well, since he tossed a glance at the doorway.

“Nothing, Mom,” Dean replied, but he couldn’t help the secretive tone that came with it.  “What we need to do now is make sure that we have enough of anything to hold off an army.”

“But we don’t even know what’s out there,” Dean looked at his mother and then at the stocked room before him.

“It really doesn’t matter, if it’s Olympian, it can be harmed, maimed or killed by the olive tree.  He flicked on the light and smiled at the shelves that lined with powder-filled jars, sticks of different lengths and even a cord of wood for the fireplace. “What we need is to make sure that if they get here, that they don’t get out without some sort of scratch.”

“What do we need to do?”  Cas questioned.

“Bullets, both shotgun and rounds, arrows,” he looked back at the fireplace and smiled, “and we need to set something on fire.”

 

Beth smiled at the way that Dean was able to situate people when she finally walked out of the room, looking no different than when she went in, but as his hand circled the front of her waist and stopped her by his side, he could smell Sam’s cologne as he leaned down and pressed his lips against her head.

“I’m surprised you’re standing,” Beth smiled as she slipped a hand under his shirt, just beyond the view of the others and Dean breathed in quickly through his nose, his brother’s scent and Beth’s filling his senses and she could feel the smile cross his face.  

“I could say the same for you,” he joked, and released her, but didn’t move away as her fingers gently brushed cross his navel.  “Your friend shared a nifty trick that gave me a bit of a block from the two of you.” Beth looked up into those green eyes and watched as he winked.  “Where’s Sam?”

“Not standing,” she answered seriously, which made Dean choked back the burst of laughter that filled his chest.  “Give him a few.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”  Crowley questioned as he placed another piece of wood on the fire, making both Beth and Dean turned towards him.

“Hmm, I thought it was hot in here.” Beth mumbled.

“Did you think it was just you?” Dean countered and she removed her fingers from his skin, which got the exact reaction she wanted, a disappointed sigh as she moved towards the fireplace.  

“Won’t the smoke signal where we are?” Mary added. To Crowley, Beth gave him a “you know me better” look with her eyes but she turned to Mary and explained.

“Being that we’ve been pretty prepared for the last decade and a half, the exhaust pipes were one of the first things we thought of.  How do you heat an underground bunker with a fireplace and not give away its exact location?” Beth grabbed a piece of paper and drew a diagram as Crowley and Mary came closer. Cas, who was standing behind the couch only watched from where he was.  “All of the ventilation pipes for the bunker are insulated and about seven-feet underground.

“They spread out across the property, running the full length of it and when we were able, we connected with the street, piping into the drains.  When we run the fireplace, even the exhaust fan for the bathroom, everything moves out in this pattern.” Beth smiled to see the look on their faces when the pattern formed a pentacle, the property line being the circle that connected them all. “Protection from just about anything getting in through the ductwork was a priority too.  There’s no way to trace the heat, or the smoke back to the bunker.”

“So why burn the Olive tree to begin with?”  

Beth glanced up at Dean, who sat down beside her on the couch. 

“The smoke from the tree will act as a deterrent, Olympians have a hard time with it.”  Beth shrugged but glanced over at the counter, where they had the manual machine set up for the bullets.  “Shotgun shells filled with the powdered wood will work just like the salt shells on ghosts but it will hurt a hell of a lot more. The bullets will damn near kill the bastards, if they hit their mark otherwise, it will definitely put the bad in their day.  Arrows are the most effective but it’s tricky to reload the crossbow if you’re new to it.”

“So, what do we do now?”  

“We reinforce.”  Sam suggested, coming out of the bedroom and glanced down at Dean, who gave him an “I know what you did” kind of grin and Sam went to swat at him but purposely missed.  “Becca and Cas will go up, as long as he stays out of sight they won’t aim for him, the other five barriers are still standing, we need to get them secured. Dean and Beth will checkout the woods, see if we can’t find what we’re up against.  The only thing we can do down here is make sure that we’re set with the ammo.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Beth smiled and went to grab her stuff.  Dean made his way into the storage room, grabbed the bow from the back wall and brought it out, it wasn’t Beth’s usual one but it was reliable and on point. After she shrugged on her coat, she took the weapon from him and grabbed the quiver full of arrows that sat on the counter, an extra bag that she had placed there weeks before.

“I still think this is a suicide mission,” Crowley growled stepping up to her as she tightened the strap on her shoulder, staring up at him.

“Just think,” Beth smiled, placing her hand on his chest as he looked down at it with disapproval, “you’ll have hordes of Demons at your beck and call when you tell them that you have me on the rack.”

“You’d never make it that far before I pulled your ass back to Earth.”  He answered and smiled, as Beth removed her hand. 

“Take care of Becca, make sure you switch off with Cas, she’s going to need all the power, whether angel or demon, that she can get.”  She ordered and watched as Crowley scowled. “Not an order, oh King of Demons, just a strong suggestion, and if you care to add to it, help Sam and Mary with the bullets.”

“Well, aren’t you just a pushy bitch!”  Crowley whispered, pride in his voice as he did so and Beth gave him a half-hearted grin before Dean gave her a nod and she headed towards Cas, who was standing in wait.  

“Well, when you learn from the best…” she replied and Crowley watched as Cas zapped them out of the room.  The angel returned alone seconds later, and Crowley felt a strange worry wash over him.

 

Dean tried hard not to shiver at the chill that ran over him.  Cas had put them in the densest part of the woods, off a little ways from the small shack beside the rushing water, and Dean watched as she pulled the crossbow from her shoulder, loading the first arrow into it. She looked up at him, and pointed to her head as she gestured to the left with her hand.

_ “It’s not as fun when we have to actually use it for something serious,” _ Dean’s mind tickled on the edge of hers.

_ “It’s not as fun when you’re awake either,” _ she replied, raising an eyebrow which made him stop and think for a moment before he followed after her.  The recent weather was actually in their favor, leaving the fallen flora damp under their feet and their footfalls were almost silent.  

_ “What did you mean by that?” _  Dean questioned as he followed behind, his eyes scanning the area within the woods and around the outside of the field. Beth glanced back and smiled.

_ “You haven’t noticed your dreams?” _  She slowed down, taking in the way that the field was scorched in certain places, but caught his eyes.  _ “They haven’t been much of a nightmare lately, have they?” _

_ “Wait, you’re playing in my head?” _  Dean stopped and watched Beth shrug without stopping.

_ “Not playing, blocking,”  _ but she had caught his tone, that slight hint of violation. _  “I couldn’t let you deal with the nightmares alone, and I couldn’t be by your side every night.” _

_ “Hold on,” _ he said with wonder,  _ “how many times a week do you come in?” _  This made Beth stand up and turn to him, her brows were creased with an answer that made Dean sigh before she turned back to her work in hand.

_ “Enough,” _ was all she answered.

Dean wanted to go on, to ask more but Beth was already on the move, hunched low to peek through the bushes as they weaved through the thick brush.  Beth put her hand up, stopping at the spot where she remembered Becca chanting on the night of her father’s memorial. Dean reached out to touch her, feeling the confusion in her mind, but she was on the move again before he had a chance to connect.  

As they came around towards the back of the house, where the bedroom windows would face, Beth once again paused and waited for Dean to catch up.  There, just beyond the fourth barrier line was a signal, smoke that flowed from a perfumed fire and Beth closed her eyes. It wasn’t that they could get a good view of the creatures that stood around it but there was enough of a shimmer to let her in on the secret that the smoke was carrying.

_ “Oh, crap,” _ she sighed and Dean shook his head.

_ “Is that…?” _ Dean whispered.

_ “It’s a portal,” _ Beth replied and watched the creatures that moved back and forth.   _ “With some sort of cloaking spell.” _

_ “Awesome! So instead of Olympians, we’re dealing with Klingons?”  _

Beth shifted her gaze to the man beside her as if to ask “really”, but she didn’t say anything else as she turned back to the fire.   _ “I wonder what would happen if we put it out.” _

_ “Are you out of your tree?”  _

_ “You got a better plan?” _

_ “Yeah,” _ he stated and whispered out loud, “Cas!”

The angel appeared and suddenly the two of them found themselves crouching in the corner of the bunker.  Beth growled, frustrated at him and stood up, which Dean mimicked and followed her. Mary and Sam stood at the counter, filling shells for the shotgun as Cas resumed his post, making arrows.

“What the hell was that?” Beth snapped turning towards Dean as she put the bow down.  “I make one remark and you “Cas” us out of there?”

“It was the worse remark I’ve ever heard!”  Dean replied, feeling his temper rise. “Put it out?  How the hell would we put it out?”

“Well you’re so full of piss and vinegar, I thought you’d be able to snuff it out with one pass.”  She answered and placed the quiver on the table.

“Don’t be an ass!”  

“Stop being a dick!”  She replied and felt Sam walk up behind her.

“What is going on?”  He questioned and both Beth and Sam looked at him.

“He’s being a bitch!” Beth snapped.

“Jerk,” Dean mumbled and Sam opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut.  It was odd to see someone turn their names around but it was Beth and Dean so nothing should have surprised him.  “They’re keeping a portal open with a fire on the back field. Einstein over there thinks it would be a good idea to put it out.”

“And before I had a chance to explain, Rocky took it upon himself to call for a quick ride out.”  She answered and felt the pillow hit her back, to which she turned and glared at Dean who had crossed his arms in anger.  “I wasn’t going to run out and douse it that very moment, I had thought of coming up with a plan.”

“Any idea what it was for?” Sam questioned.

“It’s how they got passed the barriers,” Beth answered, taking in a deep breath.  “Someone human must have come in and set it. There was herbs in the fire, familiar ones, I just didn’t have enough time to figure out which because apparently I’m a loose cannon.”

“Oh you’re not a cannon, you’re a freaking warhead!”  Dean snapped, which made Sam step between them. 

“Listen,” Beth started but Sam blocked her way as she moved toward Dean.

“I thought you said they make each other better hunters.”  Mary whispered and all three turned in her direction. Dean tried to keep himself in check but Beth’s face was pure frustration.

“The problem isn’t their hunting, it the emotions that come with it.”  Cas answered, still chipping away at the stick. “Their connection brings out the primal side and with it, the aftermath of anger.”

“He’s right,” Sam sighed and turned to Beth, “you need to find something to do and let it settle,” with a glance over his shoulder, he looked directly at Dean, “you too.”

Dean grumbled, turned and made his way to the storage room, where a couple of burlap bags of rock salt were calling his name, and Sam looked down at Beth, who stared after the man.  

“Hey,” Sam whispered and tilted her chin up so she could look at him.  Beth’s blue eyes fell on his and he locked her into a stare. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Not before I get you all killed,” she whispered, stepped back from his touch and walked up the stairs to stand in the doorway.  Sam let his hands fall, taking in the emotions that flowed from her and he tried to ease her worry, but there wasn’t much he could get through her walls.

 

Beth stood just to the right of the doorway, leaning against the plaster wall, in the shadowed part as she watched Becca and Crowley.  The man stood behind her, his eyes resting on the back of her head as his fingers traced the waist of her jeans. He wasn’t intentionally doing it, letting that soft loving gesture through, in fact, Beth found it out of character for him.  His harsh demeanor was set aside and she could see the affection that he had towards her friend, which made Beth smile, and suppress a giggle as she stared.

Crowley looked over, a grimace on his face as his eyes connected with hers.  He didn’t like that she was seeing this side of him but Beth was the only other one that knew, besides Becca, of his feelings for the woman.  He wanted to let go, wanted to drop his hand but he knew that a touch, even one as simple as this would make a connection and send strength. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the window, ignoring Beth once more as Becca’s voice boomed with the words of the spell she was conducting.  

Beth watched for a while more, not moving, not making a sound.  She just stood, taking in the way they stood, the vibrations of her voice, and the feeling of power that she sent out into the field.  It was odd because she had never felt anything when Becca cast, at least not up until that point, but she found that things were happening more and more every day, whether she wanted to admit them or not, carrying them closer to the edge of whatever this happened to be.

She heard Cas’ footsteps as he made his way up behind her and instantly watched as Crowley’s fingers dropped away seconds before the Angel’s hand caressed Beth’s shoulder.  Cautiously, Beth turned on the stairway, coming eye to chest with the man.

“Cas, take one very careful step down.” She pleaded and watched as he did so, which brought him to eye level with her.  With a grin, she stared into that sea of blue and waited for him to speak. It was more than a few minutes, more than five before he broke away and glanced over her shoulder at Crowley. 

“She needs a rest, the power she’s using isn’t going to be helpful if she’s exhausted herself.”  Cas spoke quietly, barely loud enough for Beth, who was less than a foot from the man, to hear.

“Then take her,” Beth answered, as if he had been asking permission to bring her down, to take some of the burden from her and his eyes swung back to hers.  “I can tell you’re concerned, Cas, I know you love her, so I’ll have her come down and the two of you can take the first room. She needs to eat and she needs to sleep, at least for a bit.” He nodded, and broke away one more time, staring at the man in black. “It’s not a competition, Cas,” Beth whispered, leaning in so that she spoke into his ear softly, “she’s not going to go with him, she only wants you.”

When Beth backed away, the concern in the angel’s eyes had faded as if her words were somehow comforting to him and he nodded.  Beth turned back towards the two that stood at the window and cleared her throat. Crowley turned in her direction and she gestured at the two of them with her fingers, then motioned with her thumb that they were needed in the basement.  Crowley whispered to Becca, whose arm lowered and she drew in a deep breath before turning towards the stairway. 

Becca came down first, accepting Castiel’s hand as he held it out for her and Beth watched the two of them walk down the steps before disappearing into a room.  Beth raised her hand, stopping Crowley beside her on the step and she looked up into his eyes.

“Leave it be,” she whispered and watched the grin that cross his face.

“I thought you knew me better than that, Love,” Crowley’s voice was sweet but menacing at the same time.  

“I do, and that’s why I’m telling you to leave it be,” Beth answered and watched as he leaned closer. “If you say demon to me, I will purposely trip you down these stairs.”

He backed away, looked straight ahead, still grinning and puffed up his chest.  “Now I know I raised you right.” 

Beth let him go, giving him a half-smile and listened to him walk down the steps before turning in the direction of the counters, the opposite way that Cas had gone with the woman they were both pining for.

 

Sam watched as Crowley stepped up to where he and his mother were making bullets. Once the new arrival and his mother stopped staring at each other, Sam stepped away, glanced up at Beth who was still at the top of the steps and moved to the backroom where Dean could be heard taking things out on some poor bag.

The bag rested against the wall, on top of a barrel full of something Sam had probably never heard of in his life, which was the way the storage room was stocked, and Dean was going at it with both fists.  He slid the panel until it was almost closed and watched as Dean looked up, having removed everything besides a thin tee-shirt and his jeans.

“What is it, Sammy?”  Dean questioned, as he took another swing.

“You really think busting up your hands is the best way to handle this?”  Dean looked down at one of his knuckles, gave his brother a “it’s whatever” look and took a swing.

“There another way to handle it?”

“Yeah, go out there and talk to her, she’s your best friend for Christ’s sake.”  Sam wanted to roll his eyes but he just stared.

“You didn’t see her, see the look of “screw it” in her eyes, Sam,” Dean stopped and turned to his brother.  “If I had let her, she would have walked right out there in the middle of that field and stomped that fire out.”

“And you would have been right behind her to help.”  Sam insisted, which gave Dean pause before he grabbed his shirt from the floor.

“She has a death wish.”

“Dean, she doesn’t want to die, she just doesn’t want to see us killed.”  Dean stepped up to him and looked him square in the eyes, brows raised. 

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that,” Dean sighed but Sam grabbed his arm.

“What’s your problem?” Sam questioned and watched as Dean just stared down at his shirt.  “Things with you have just been off lately, so what’s up?”

“What’s up?” Dean tried not to laugh, “the world is going to shit…again…and we’re stuck in a bunker while they’re beating down our door.  How many times are we going to do this?”

“Save the world?”

“Save our own asses from something we shouldn’t be fighting in the first place!”  Sam leaned back against the shelving and nodded. “I love her, man, I really do, and I would lay my life on the line for her every second, but Olympian Gods? Don’t you think we’re in over our heads?”

“Have you forgotten about Amara already?” Sam turned to him and watched as Dean’s eyes shined with anger.  “We put a soul bomb in your chest, and you were supposed to die but you didn’t, in fact we got Mom back because we decided to save our own asses.”

“We were trying to save the world.”

“Because we live in it,” Sam argued.  “Dean this is not about Beth, is it? This is about what could go wrong if we lose, if we lose her.”

“You’re damned right it’s about if we lose her!”  Dean snapped, stepping up to his brother as the anger shined through.  His voice lowered, bringing the conversation down so that the two of them were the only ones involved.  “I can’t lose her, Sam, not again. I need her too much to go through that pain.”

“I love her too, Dean but we can’t just stand by.”

“I know, and that’s what’s killing me because either way the cards are dealt, she’s the ace.” Dean closed his eyes.  “I wish…”

“So do I,” Sam whispered, knowing just what he wanted, just what he wished for and Dean opened and turned those green eyes up to him. “But sometimes wishes just don’t happen.”

Dean nodded, looked down at the blood on his hands and walked out of the room. He glanced up at the stairway as Beth started to make her way down, but when their eyes locked, Dean quickly looked down, trying to avoid the contact that she was reaching for.  He took a deep breath and made his way towards the back bedroom, softly closing the door behind him. Sam stepped out of the storage room and looked up at her as well. All he could offer her was a shrug.

 

Crowley moved through the kitchen, gathering things from the cabinets and the refrigerator as Beth stood once more at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed as she did her best to look at the world outside.  The man’s dark eyes scanned over her and he slammed a can down on the counter, making her jump to attention, her eyes automatically connecting with his.

“Ass!” she mumbled and watched as he smiled.

“You know, one of these days you might have to pick just one.”  Crowley replied.

“Not going to happen,” she replied, and shifted back towards the window.

“What happens when Hera leaves, when the connection is broken and you have two boys in your life?  They’re not going to stay copacetic with this arrangement forever.”

“We have our quirks to work out but there’s a plan.”  

“Bollocks!”  Crowley snapped, to which Beth only shook her head.  “Do you even know what you’re up against out there?”

“Not a clue, but it’s probably big, bad and ugly.” 

Crowley stepped up to her, leaving the things on the table as he went and took hold of her hand, zapping her into the back den, close enough so that she could see the fire that burned in the yard. With whatever trick he had up his sleeve, he darkened out the window, as if the lights were off and no one stood there, making them virtually invisible.  

Beth watched the creatures that stepped from the portal, half-human, half-horse, both men and women of their kind, armed to the teeth with bows, arrows and things that strangely resembled guns.

“Centaurs, great.”  Beth whispered and stepped back from the window, but she also saw other things making their way out of the portals.  “How many things are coming through?”

“Oh that’s just the front line after they took out the five barriers,” Crowley smiled.  

“We need to move, and we need to move now.”  Beth looked up at him and walked out, just before she hit the living room, at the edge of the hallway, Crowley grabbed her arm and planted her safely in the middle of the bunker where she turned to look at him.  “Make sure whatever weapons we have are ready to go,” she watched his eyes roam to the wall of the bedroom that Becca occupied. “I’ll take care of that one, thank you.”

“Well, I can only offer my services should a certain angel get in the way.” Crowley’s grin only made Beth roll her eyes as she turned and walked away once again.

 

Beth moved down towards the back room, unaware that Dean was hiding out in it and she walked in, shut the door once more and put her back to it, her head against the wood and let out a sigh.  For a moment she just stood there, her hands behind her back, letting the quietness of the room fill her, until she heard a heartbeat, a steady rhythmic thump and slowly opened her eyes. Frustration filled her as she scanned over the man that stood against the edge of the dresser, his arms crossed in front of him and a scowl on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t know the room was occupied,” she stated and turned, grabbing the door, “I leave.”

“Wait,” he whispered and her hand froze on the handle, not sure she had heard him correctly, Beth looked over at him, “just, wait.”

“Dean, I can’t argue with you right now.”  Beth admitted and turned the knob.

“Beth,” his voice softened and she turned fully, releasing her hold.  “We need to talk.”

“I swear to God all I’ve done lately is talk.  I’m done talking.” She shrugged, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans.  “But, if you need to get something off your chest, fire away…I’ll listen.”

“I’m sorry.” Beth blinked, twice, unsure of what she had just heard.

“Excuse me,” she questioned, “what?”

“You really want me to repeat it?”  Dean gruffed, but Beth smiled and shook her head.

“What could you possibly be sorry for, Dean?”  

“Look, I know you want this done.  I know you want us safe, okay. I get it, I do, but I can’t let you just go headfirst into the fight.”  He stepped away from the dresser, closing the space between them. “I lost you once, Bee, I don’t know if I have the strength in me to do it again, not after all this.”

“After all what?  The screwed-up mess we call a life together?”  Beth’s smile was full of sarcasm. “A life full of something I can’t give you, even though you share my heart.”

“Why do you always bring this back to sex?”  Dean was strangely curious. “I thought that was my job.”

“Because it’s important, Dean, don’t you think?”  Beth watched as he closed the distance, enough so that she could smell his cologne, close enough so that he could feel the heat from her body.  “To really belong to someone, don’t you think there needs to be that level of intimacy?”

“Kid, I have you so deep inside me that there couldn’t possibly be a level we haven’t reached yet.”  Dean smiled but he stepped forward, backing her up against the door. Beth looked up at him and moved her hands from behind her back, grasping his shirt.  “All I need, Bee, all I will ever need is to know you love me.”

“I do,” she whispered, feeling the tips of his fingers caressing her neck, and she shivered. 

Dean leaned down placing his forehead against hers and she watched him close his eyes. She could feel the power resonating from him, as if she was tapped into his source, and she shivered from it.  Dean was powerful, a warrior, and it rushed through every nerve in his body.

His lips pressed against her forehead and Beth finally relaxed under his touch, as he pressed himself closer to her.  It wasn’t a sexual advance, it was just Dean giving her all that he could, even if it was just a touch, just an emotion but it was enough.

 

Sam knocked on the door, feeling the energy behind it and he suppressed a smile, before the door cracked open and Dean peeked his head around.

With a sigh, he opened the door and let him in.  “You know I didn’t interrupt your “me” time with her, what’s the deal?”

Sam grinned at him as the door closed and he sat down on the bed, glancing over at Beth who had moved to lean against the wall, the blush on her face told him that he hadn’t interrupted anything except her thoughts.

“We need a plan,” Sam shrugged and watched as Dean walked over to sit next to him on the bed and both brothers looked up at Beth, who was quiet for a moment before she shook her head.

“I got nothing.” She answered, and Sam was about to go on but she stopped.  “But I do have some information.”

“Okay, well,” Sam watched as she stepped away from the wall.

“What do you know about Centaurs?”  She grinned and watched as the two boys looked at each other.

 

Beth placed the books down on the counter as Sam and Cas moved all of the equipment for the bullets out of the way.  Becca stepped from the room, tired but otherwise fully awake and stepped up beside her. Beth could see it in her eyes, the menacing look that her friend gave her and she couldn’t hide the smile.

“I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?”  Beth whispered as she flipped through the pages of the books.  Dean sat on the other side of the counter, watching the exchange, trying not to react to Beth’s wink in his direction.

“No, not technically,” Becca groaned and watched as Beth’s brow raised.  

“Then,” she turned to her friend and watched Becca pout, “I’m not sorry at all.”

Dean shook his head as Beth walked away, leaving Becca stunned and a bit confused but as she turned to look at Dean, her confusion faded.

“She did that on purpose, didn’t she?”  Becca asked.

“What can I say, the girl’s a Winchester through and through, it’s what we do.”  Dean gave her a cocky grin, which had Becca sighing as she leaned on the counter.

“Damn Winchesters!”  She grumbled, slapped him on the forearm and turned away. “So, what are we all doing out here scrambling around some books? I’m hungry and I need my energy.”

Sam was the one cooking, as Beth pulled every book from the library shelves both downstairs and up, with the help of Cas and Mary, that had anything to do with Greek mythology.  They lined every counter space that was free and Dean watched as Beth sat with crossed legs on the couch, a thick volume in her lap. Sam glanced over as well, looking at the untouched grilled cheese. 

“Bee, you gotta eat!”  Dean scolded and watched as she slowly raised her arm and flipped him off. Dean gave her a “bite me” face and turned to the book on the table. “Well, I got nothing.”  He looked up at Sam, as he pushed the book away and watched as the younger one scanned over a page in the book in front of him. “What?”

“Beth, how many angel blades do we have?”  Sam questioned and watched as she picked her head up, thought for a moment and turned in his direction.

“Four…I think.” She bit her lip and then nodded.  “Yeah, four.”

“How exactly did you manage to get four angel blades?”  Crowley questioned and watched as she smiled at him and winked before going back to her book.  “When this is over, you and I are going to have a little chat.”

“I stole them from a few of the fallen ones,” she admitted and looked over at him again, but noticed the questioning look on Cas’ face.  “I thought they were dead and I didn’t think they would need them anymore so, I took them.” She watched as he seemed to acknowledge her logic of the situation.  “It wasn’t my finest hour, so sue me.”

“Sam,” Dean spoke up breaking the conversation between them, “what’s with the blades?”

“Alright,” he started and rolled up his sleeves, something he did when he was really about to get into it.  “Angels are celestial beings,” he glanced at his brother and Dean raised his brows, urging him on. “So what if the Olympians are kind of the same thing? What if any celestial being can be hurt by them?”

“A generic douchebag ganker?”  Dean questioned, but Sam shook his head.

“Every one of them works the same, Angels, Demons, Olympians.  Did you notice that they all disappear in a bright light, no matter which way they die, Olympians disappear, angel grace literally blinds you when you stab them and Demons, well…”

“Okay…I get it.” Dean spoke up, raising his hand, “don’t hurt yourself.”

“Sam is correct,” Cas answered, coming to look over the book that lay before him. “An angel blade would take out a Centaur, or any other Olympian.”

“The problem is how close you have to get to stab it in the bloody heart.” Crowley interjected and watched as they all looked up at him.  “Do you really want to be that close to something that weighs that much and could stomp you into meat pies?”

“We don’t really have a choice,” Beth spoke softly and they all turned towards her.  She looked up from the book she was reading and slid her hand across her forehead. “The only thing that can kill a Centaur is a blessed object thrusted through its chest.” She closed the book, slamming it shut. “And, you’re going to love this,” she grabbed the next book down the line and stood up with it, bringing it to the counter where the boys stood, “it has to be a blessed object marked with the runes of Enochian.”

“Really?”  Dean asked, knowing damned well she wouldn’t lie and watched as she placed the book down before him. “Awesome!”

“How do you carve sigils like this into an angel blade?”  Becca questioned and looked up at Cas.

“It’s a process, but I think I can get the tools we need to get it done.”  Cas answered and turned to Crowley.

“Oh, don’t look at me, Love, because of our little witch’s spell, I’m stuck here.”  He fessed up and walked over to scan the book. 

Cas turned and looked at Becca, he leaned down close to her ear and whispered softly into it.  “I’ll return as fast as possible. It might take me longer to find specific items.”

“It’s okay, Cas,” she smiled as she looked into his blue-eyes, “we’ll be safe.”

She stepped up and kissed him softly on the lips, something he cherished for a moment before disappearing from the room.  Becca smiled, noting how uncomfortable it made Crowley feel as she walked over and grabbed the grilled cheese that Sam had just placed down on the plate.

“These are the best ever.”  Becca mumbled as she took a bite.

“Mmm, the gooey goodness of American processed cheese food,” Beth replied and felt Becca swing for her head, but Beth leaned forward just in time.  Sam’s arms snaked around Beth’s stomach and she felt his breath by her ear.

“You need to eat,” he whispered and she turned towards him, grinning.  “That’s not what I meant.”

“My appetite has already been sated,” she winked and listened to Dean choke.

“I think I just threw up a little,” Crowley mumbled as he walked by, which got nothing but a smile from Beth.

“Okay, we’re going to have to sleep in shifts at some point,” Sam spoke up and looked at the remaining people in the room, waiting for a reply.  “Cas is gone, he said it might take a bit to find what he needs so now would be the best time to do it.”

“With an army massing outside?”  Crowley questioned.

“You have first shift!”  Dean stated and watched the man scowl.  “I’ll take it with you. Mom and Becca, you take my room, Sam and Beth can take the back.”

“No, I’ll stay up with Crowley,” Becca spoke up.  “I already had a few hours earlier, with Cas, and I need to work on the wards just a little longer.”

“Are you sure?”  Beth questioned and watched as Dean crossed his arms.  Becca glanced from Crowley to Beth and nodded. “Then that will have to be the plan.  We can’t go into battle half-assed and exhausted.”

“Who says it’s going to be a battle?”  Mary asked, headed back towards the first room.  

Dean rolled his eyes, grabbed a blanket and plopped himself down on the couch, where he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.  The boy could sleep anywhere but if he could position himself in a place where he could make the fastest move, that would be the best thing for him and right on the couch gave him the advantage.

Sam glanced over Becca and Crowley once more before he headed off to the furthest room, patting Dean on the shoulder as he walked by. Beth stopped at the couch, leaned over the back and stared down at Dean’s closed eyes. It took the man a minute, and Beth smiled as he began to shift uncomfortably under her gaze before he finally opened his eyes to stare at her.

“Pain in the ass!”  He mumbled and got comfortable again and tried to close his eyes, but he gave up and looked right at her.  “What?”

“Goodnight.”  She whispered, kissed him on the forehead and stood up.  

Dean grabbed his pillow and threw it at her as she walked away, laughing.  Beth tossed it back to him, and let him get settled back in, but no matter how hard he tried to let the darkness take over, some part of him was wide awake.

 

About an hour into the shift, Dean found himself sitting up on the couch.  Becca and Crowley were up at the top of the stairs working on the wards while Mary slept in his room, but it was the feeling from the second bedroom that was keeping him awake.  He knew that Beth wasn’t sleeping, or at least she wasn’t sleeping well, and she could feel Sam trying to comfort her but nothing he was trying seemed to be working.

The door opened slowly and he turned his head to watch Beth step out, her face on the man in the room as she made sure that the door was absolutely silent when she pulled it until it stayed closed.  With a small sigh, she turned and was about to head towards the kitchen when she saw the man on the couch, looking at her.

“I knew it was you,” she whispered and rolled her eyes as she walked over and sat down on the couch beside him.  Dean, who was sitting forward, looked back at her, as she let her body lean back, her legs half off the couch and she stared up at the ceiling, and then he turned back to the drink in his hand.  “I can feel you in my head, wide awake and roaming around.”

“That’s not me.”  Dean fessed up, taking another sip of the amber liquid from the rocks glass. “I’ve been feeling you for the last hour.”

“Tossing and turning, the same crap going on in my head?”  She questioned and watched him nod. “I could block it.”

“Too late now,” he answered and stared at the table.  “What’s up with you, Bee?”

“Besides the last twenty-four hours?” She rubbed her hands down her face and shook her head.  “I thought I was prepared for all of this, I mean, we should have been more prepared, don’t you think?”

“I try not to,” he shrugged, and looked at his lap as her hand rested on his thigh.  “I try to not think about a lot of things.”

“Like the outcome, one way or another,” she whispered and watched as he put the glass down and at sat back, almost matching the way she sat and turned his head towards her.  Dean smiled as he looked over the exhaustion on her face and shook his head. 

“You think too much.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of what I do.”  She sighed and closed her eyes. 

He assumed it was meant to be a relaxation technique but he watched as her head slowly rolled to the side, towards him and he shook his head. Sam came out of the room and peeked over the couch, then at Dean who turned his gaze up to his younger brother.

“Don’t look at me, she just came out and fell asleep.”  Dean grabbed the blanket beside him and covered her up as Sam took the chair closest to her, adjusted the pillow behind him and stretched out, putting his own legs under Beth’s so that he was touching her.  “Sammy?”

“Yeah?”  Sam mumbled as he closed his eyes, grabbing the small throw that was on the floor beside him.

“What’s up with the two of you?” Dean whispered, a bit confused as to what was going on.

“You were too far away,” Sam exclaimed and slowly fell into a light sleep. 

Dean shook his head, but as he began to relax, Sam’s words made all the sense in the world.  Being closer to the two of them made it seem safer to let go and he closed his own eyes. Sleep finally took him into a dark, dreamless place.  One that he had hoped for instead of endless war scenes that he had playing out in his waking mind.

 

The sound of things hitting the table was what woke Sam from the rest he needed and he found himself blinking several times before the ceiling came into focus.  The smell of melting metal filled his nose and the loss of the heat next to his legs had him sitting up slowly to investigate just what was going on. Beth was gone from the couch, and Dean was now lying in the spot she had occupied, the blanket that had covered her was over him and Sam found that even he had a thicker one on, but the disappearance of the woman he fell asleep next to made him curious.

As the characters around him came into play, he found Mary standing at the counter watching as Castiel began engraving the Enochian symbols into the blade with what looked like a soldering iron.  As he watched, with each new sigil, Cas dipped the end of it in a bowl beside him, one that possibly contained the ingredients to a spell. He was happy that his mother was getting involved, even watching over the Angel as he worked his magic, but it was the eyes of the Demon that sat across from him that caught his attention.

“Let me guess, you don’t sleep,” Sam mumbled as he stretched and sat up more.

“No need,” Crowley shrugged and tipped the glass in his hand towards him, “but watching the three of you, now that is an interesting spectacle. Did you realize that no matter where she moved to, the two of you automatically changed positions so you would still make contact in some way?”

“It helps her.” Sam shrugged.

“Why?”

“Why what?” 

“Why does it help her to touch you both?”  Crowley seemed to be digging and Sam sighed.

“No thanks to you, her memories have become nightmares and in order to help her actually sleep, we found that some sort of connection broke the cycle of the memories.”  Sam explained, but he really wasn’t sure why he was bothering.

“So you’re using her dreams to justify the two of you shacking up with her?” Sam watched that fatherly anger rise on his face once again.

“Very rarely have we ever shared the same bed at the same time.”  Sam snapped, which made Dean jump from his sleep, gun in hand and he looked back and forth between the two men.

“What did I miss?”  Dean questioned.

“Crowley, being a dick!”  Sam answered and stood. 

Dean watched Sam walk over to the bottom of the stairway and look up at the shadows that graced the top before Dean turned in Crowley’s direction. “What now, Crowley?” 

“Moose and I were just talking about your rather intimate relationship with Elizabeth.” The King sat back in the chair and watched as Dean sat up, slowly placing the gun on the table before him as he sat forward.  “Are you taking advantage of her?”

“Listen,” Dean spoke softly, his voice deep from the sleep he was just in but his green eyes were focused and protective, “what goes on between my brother and Beth, or even myself, is none of your damned business.” Crowley gave him a half-assed grin, knowing he had gotten under the older Winchester’s skin. “And it would probably be a good idea to remember that, before I have to give you a one-shot reminder.”

“Now, now, Squirrel, we’re all looking after the same girl here. No need to get testy.” 

Dean inhaled deeply and shook his head as he stood from the couch, grabbed the gun and made his way over to the bathroom, opposite direction as his brother. Once the bathroom door was closed, Dean rubbed the sleep from his eyes and placed both hands down on the edge of the sink, looking into his own eyes.  He needed a few more hours, hell, he needed a few weeks but he knew that Crowley was right, they were all protecting the same person. With a sigh, he reached out and turned on the faucet.

 

Beth smiled at Becca, who stood in front of the dark window, whispering the words to the warding spells that Beth had heard dozens of times in a soft voice.  She admired the witch’s bravery, even her strength because the whole time Beth had slept, Becca had been right there working her magic.

“You don’t have to be so quiet.”  Becca said, soon after finishing one of the warding, but she didn’t look in Beth’s direction in case someone from outside was watching.  “To be honest, having you sulk around in the dark lately had become very creepy.”

“Speak for yourself, Angel Lady!”  Beth said sarcastically. “I’m pretty sure I learned all of my sulking from you.”

“Not nearly,” she laughed and Beth couldn’t help but smile.  “You would think after all these years that you would have gotten a little better at the breathing part.”

“You can barely hear me when I’m standing right next to you breathing, Bec.” Beth defended herself, but knew her friend was only picking.  “Besides, I thought all that training came in handy on Halloween.”

“Yeah, thanks for always scaring the crap out of me!” This time Becca did turn, but she also made her way towards the stairway and watched as Beth stepped aside so that they both were facing one another at the top of the stairs.  “Never underestimate what you can do, Beth, you’re one of the best hunters I have ever met.”

“Apparently, one of the creepiest too,” Beth wiggled her eyebrows and watched as Becca shook her head and walked down past her.  The blue-eyed woman soon followed and everyone gathered around the counter, what space there was as Castiel lay out the four angel blades.  “Are you sure these will work, Cas?”

“I’ve never done this spell before,” he admitted and locked her gaze, “so no, I’m not sure at all.”

“Well, that’s encouraging,” Mary whispered and Beth reached out, picked one up by the handle and smiled at it.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, admiring the way that the light shined on the different sigils that adorned the blade.  

“And deadly.” Cas added, watching her smile as she nodded in agreement. Dean, Sam, and Crowley each picked one up but Beth handed hers directly to Cas.  “You’re going to need it.”

“Actually,” she smiled, and placed it in his hand, “I won’t.” All eyes turned to her and she glanced over at Becca.  “We know what’s going on here, and the sooner we all accept it, the better, so my job out there is going to be one thing, and one thing only.  Put out the fire.”

“Are you insane?”  Dean questioned.

“Beth, that’s suicide.” Sam argued, but both stopped as she put up her hand.  

“Listen, I know that it doesn’t sound like a good idea but if you hear me out, I’m sure at some point it will click.”  She walked over to the weapons cabinet and opened a small door, pulled out a small hand-held crossbow, this one no larger than the Walther she kept tucked in her belt, but the bow width was about six inches across.  She brought it and the small quiver that held the bolts to the table, setting them down. “It’s high-speed, ten times faster than the one upstairs. The bolts are made from silver, and iron, with a middle filled with tree dust.”

Dean picked it up, feeling the light weight of the weapon in his hand and he whistled. It was balanced and definitely something he could see her playing with.  Beth pulled out a few of the darts and let them touch them. Each one was covered in runes and sigils from all different religions. 

“When did you do this?”  Sam questioned, looking at the bolts.  

“Believe it or not, about three months ago,” she shrugged. “I was out at the range with the crossbow and realized that I needed something more compact that packed more of a hit and something I could use on the fly.”

“How is this any better than the other one?”  Mary questioned and watched as Dean handed it to her.  

Beth flicked a switch, similar to what would have been the mag lock trigger and watched as she bent the bow forward.  Once that was out of the way, she clicked the safety, moved a small panel on the slide and let her look in.

“This holds seven bolts, it’s automatic.” Beth closed everything back up, let the bow snap back into place and used her thumb to click back the wheel, which sat in the spot the hammer would have been.  “The only thing that isn’t is the wheel, you have to create the tension on the bow string before you can fire the first shot, after that, it’s all automatic.”

She turned, aimed at the bathroom door and fired repeatedly, which made everyone turn at the suddenness of it.  Beth didn’t give them any warning before she discharged but what came out of it was seven direct shots in the same two inch space on the wooden door. Sam smiled, Dean shook his head and watched as she skillfully reloaded and clicked it back to ready, just before she flicked on the safety.

“See. All set.” Beth moved the wheel, releasing the tension and placed it on the counter. Dean looked at it eagerly and scooped it up as soon as Beth gave him a nod. “I’m going to shoot from the line.  Cas and Crowley, you guys are going to be the first in, we need to know a count and you’ll be practically invisible to them. Hell, you could stand in the middle of the herd and not be seen. Get us a number, and wait for the shot. I’ll fire first and Sam and Dean will go in.  I’m not playing around, that fire will be out by the time this is over.”

“How are you going to put out a magical flame?”  Sam questioned and watched Becca smiled, which made Beth give a small gesture of “well, now you know”.

“With a little magical rainstorm,” she replied.  “Being a demigod has to have some advantages, like to call on the weather.”

“You’ve never done it before.” Dean spoke up. 

“I’ve never tried, but Becca and I came up with a plan for that.”

“It’s the reason you’re hanging back,” Sam’s words were more like thoughts spoken out loud, “your energy will be focused on the storm.”

“Exactly,” Beth took a deep breath.  “So let’s stop pussy-footing around.”

“And kick some Centaur ass?”  Dean questioned, watching her nod, “my kind of date, let’s go.”

Becca hugged Beth quickly and pulled her away from the boys as Mary hugged them both. Sam watched as Beth tucked a bag in her pocket before Becca stole Cas away, but she came back to hug Crowley before grabbing her book. Becca nodded, took Mary’s hand and the two of them headed upstairs, shotgun in hand.

Beth closed her eyes, just for a second before she looked up at the four of them. “Let’s go kick ass.” And with that, Crowley and Cas zapped them from the bunker to the dark woods.

Beth waited along the tree line, she could see Sam to her left, Dean to her right.  Crowley and Cas were yards away, one on either side of the boys as Mary and Becca stood at the back window, staring straight out at the portal. Mary held the gun at the ready, Becca held the spell book. This was a long shot for sure but the only way that they would be able to move towards the portal, the only way they were going to be able to close it.

Sam wasn’t looking at the shimmers of light that moved about the grounds, cloaked by the power of the spells that surrounded them, he was looking at Beth’s face, the gung-ho look in her eyes that Dean had described and his heart pounded.  

Beth slowly pulled back on the wheel, one tick every few seconds, completely silent to those who didn’t know what she was doing but Sam could hear it her mind as she counted them out, not looking down at the bow string that she pulled taunt. One…two…three.  Her sight was locked on that shimmer before her.

Sam was always afraid going into a fight, but it wasn’t fear of being hurt, of losing, it was a fear of what he was going to lose.  He had always thought that he would be okay with seeing Beth in this mode. Hell, he had seen her like this in the past but it didn’t bother him as much as it did at that moment and the fear of losing her crept up on him.  Dean glanced over her shoulder, knowing the facial expressions of his brother, and flicked at his mind, making Sam’s eyes snap up in his direction. Dean raised a brow, questioningly and Sam just gave a slight nod. He was ready, fear or not.

Dean took his eyes from his brother, knowing the cues of Sam’s emotions from the look on his face, and he knew that his probably mirrored his own.  Dean wasn’t ready for this fight, not in any way, but he knew that Beth was and he would stand by her without hesitation. The plan was simple, neat and way too easy.  How could it possibly go wrong? And that was what bothered him the most, knowing that it could.

He heard the ticks of the wheel, four…five…the whipcord was tight and Dean watched her breath in, hold it and place the olive bolt on the slide, before releasing her breath. That was the sign, the one that meant “be at the ready”.  Beth looked at both sides, past the boys and with two fingers signaled Cas and Crowley to move.

In typical fashion both disappeared in a blink.  Leave it to them to make a grand entrance, but hey, how could you not love their charm.  Both were cloaked, both able to make themselves invisible to the enemy as they stood in the midst of them, but they were clearly visible to Beth.  She could see Cas standing, his arms by his side by the angel blade in hand, spelled against the Greek warriors. Crowley waiting, posed as usual, hands behind his back, tip of the blade tapping at the spot between his shoulders as he became impatient but she could tell count by those taps.

“Twelve so far from Crowley,” her mind sang and both Sam and Dean readied their blades.  Her eyes focused on Cas at the way his fingers danced against his coat and she sighed. “Another dozen from Cas.”

“Two? Two dozen Centaurs?”  Dean questioned as Sam looked at Beth, then up at Dean who shrugged. “Well, the odds seem to be in our favor.”

“Why exactly do you think that?”  Sam smiled.

“We have an angel and a demon, they have half-horse things,” Dean grinned jokingly as he caught his brother’s eye. Beth closed her eyes as her brow went up, not even sure that she had heard Dean right.  She could tell that he was nervous because he would say things like that to hide any emotion other than the sarcasm. “What?”

Beth opened her eyes and turned towards him, with that same look still on her face and she gave him a slight shake of his head. She prayed that Becca was doing what she needed to on her part, and for a moment she looked down at her watch.

 

Becca whispered as she flipped to find the spell earmarked in the book. Mary stood quietly next to her, watching the field that spread before her, the only thing visible was the fire and the strange shimmers of light.  Becca glanced at the digital clock on the counter beside her and drew in a deep breath as she flipped the page and began to read.

The clouds over head began to form, listening to the rise in her voice as she pulled the rainstorm from the old Book of Shadows.  It wasn’t Greek, wouldn’t harm them in anyway, but there was a power behind it that would be strong enough to put out that flame, and that was what they needed, to close the portal.

 

Beth looked up, smiling as the pitch black clouds began to roll in from the North, a good sign since most didn’t come in that way but she wasn’t taking any chances.  She wanted this to be cold, and brutal on the Olympians. Half-naked and hairless, the least they would start to get is hypothermic and that would slow them down somewhat, for as long as it took for the job to get done.

The sheets came down in waves, almost as if a wind were pushing them, and Beth flipped the hood of the black coat she wore up, to block the rain from her eyes.  She watched as Sam and Dean did the same, but looking out at the swarming shimmers, she saw that Crowley and Cas hadn’t moved, they stood in the same spots, tapping away as the minutes ticked by.

Sam watched as she raised the bow, placed the butt of it against her shoulder and put her sight on a man as far away as she could reach.  He watched how she stared, unblinking into the distance and with a flick, almost invisible, her finger moved, and the bolt flew. Both Sam and Dean watched it sail, a white line against the pelting rain and it hit dead center in the middle of the target, the Centaur’s heart.

Battle cries rang out as Beth sent four more in quick succession.  They hadn’t even heard the way she cocked back the string, never saw the movement of her hands as she loaded the arrows, the only thing they heard was the whistle of the projectiles as they flew into the massing crowd. 

Dean watched the fire start to die down and he nodded to Sam, who in an instant was on his feet.  Beth wasn’t going into this one, they had decided that back at the bunker. The men would be the warriors, she just needed to take out as many as possible.  The boys rushed the crowd, because along with the rain came what they needed, outlines of the wet and shivering enemies.

Cas and Crowley took their marks, slicing as they went, blades swinging at the two dozen, or more, creatures that had finally figured out they were under attack and started swinging back.  

The embers of the fire began to darken, as the rain focused on that spot, like a fire hose without the attachments.  Beth smiled at Becca, praying she could keep up the magic as long as could to douse out the fire, but closing the portal was Beth’s job.  

She and Becca had discussed it before walking down to get the blades.  There was no way that the fire alone was keeping it open, no magic flame was strong enough to open a doorway between the Olympian world and this one, so there was only one thing she could do.

“A bomb?”  Beth had questioned, as Becca set the bag in her hand, just before they separated.

“A specific kind of bomb,” Becca whispered and the two of them watched the boys prepare, but Becca turned back to her friend.  “In all the cases you have covered in the last year, what is the one thing that stopped a spell?” But Beth shook her head. “You stopped the Kitsune with a Greek ward, when they used Greek…”

“We used Latin,” Beth whispered and held the bag in her hand. “Where did you get this?”

“Never mind, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”  Becca replied and looked at Crowley. 

“Jesus, it’s a demon bomb.” Beth swallowed hard.  “You do realize if I use this Crowley will be sent to God only knows where and we may never see him again.”

“You said it yourself, whatever it takes to shut this down,” she looked into Beth’s eyes, “he said the same thing, which means get you the hell out of there in one piece and shut this bugger down.

“Great, now you sound just like him.” Beth rolled her eyes and placed the small burlap bag in her pocket.  “What do I have to do with it?”

“Toss it in,” Becca shrugged.

“That’s it?”  Beth’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Just throw it in?”

“Yeah, it’s a bomb, all they need to work is to pull the pin.” 

“Is it pulled already?  Will it go off in my pocket?”  Beth was a bit worried at this tiny bit of missing information.

“No, you just throw it,” Becca smiled, finding her nervousness too funny for words, “that’s your pin.”

“Okay, great, I just throw it.”  Becca patted her on the chest and Beth ran her hand over the lump in her pocket.  “That’s awesome!”

Stepping out of the bushes, Beth made her way through the melee that surrounded her.  She watched as Sam swung, ducked and swung again before getting off a shot. Dean was hell bent on putting as many of them in the ground as he could but he wasn’t without taking his hits and she noticed the blood that ran down his cheek from his hairline.  Cas and Crowley seemed to be holding their own, except the angel was covered in blood and his eyes were glowing a fierce blue, like the light of Heaven was shining through him. 

Crowley held off the kicks of the horsemen by doing one of the smartest things she had ever seen and quickly, she connected with Sam and Dean, her crossbow at the ready as she moved to take out a few of the bastards herself.

“The legs, go for the legs!”  Beth ordered and watched as Sam turned in her direction, more than halfway to the fire.  He stopped and stared, not that he was in disbelief that she was breaking her own orders but that she had made it that far without him knowing.  Beth caught his eye as she ducked behind the body of a fallen Centaur. “Move it, Sammy, no time to stop and admire.”

With that Sam swung, taking out the leg of the creature before him and watched as it fell. Dean had watched it unfold, seeing his brother bring down the horse without issue and then it was on, both men were swinging down, aiming for the weakness, even as the arms of the soldiers above the thousand-pounds of flesh swung at them from the top.

Beth fired off the bolts, taking out the ones that were coming up from behind or around the sides of the men on the field.  Dean went down, hooves threatening to trample but it was Sam’s blade that toppled the beast and he pulled Dean up before releasing him to fight another monster.

She closed in on the spot, looking into the strange glow of the open door that stood faltering as the smoke began to disappear and it was then that she recognized the smell.  They were the same herbs used to make the line that kept Artemis within the circle when she put a fulgurite spear through her sister’s heart. This was the same smell that stopped her from escaping.

Beth stopped and looked around, something about this whole thing seemed a little off but she stopped when she caught the eyes of Crowley, fished the bag from her pocket and held it just long enough for him to see before with one good toss from her pitching arm, she sent the bag flying through the air, watching it disappear into the void.

Three…two…one!

The seconds seemed to count down in slow motion. Sam stood straight and stared at her, as his chest heaved and he tried to catch his breath.  Dean pushed himself from the ground, one last strike downward with his blade before he pulled the gun and shot the damned thing in the head. Cas turned, his attention taken from the dying foe in front of him as he caught her eye. 

The explosion rocked the ground beneath her feet, sending her flying backwards as the shockwave did the same, spreading out along the field.  Beth felt her breath leave her body for a second, leaving her winded and dazed once she hit the solid ground.

She felt it as she tried to move, a pull at her heart, a gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of her stomach as she tried to sit up. Her eyes locked on Sam, Dean, Cas, and finally Crowley who lay motionless on the field.  The Centaurs were gone, all of them and any other manner of beasts that had escaped through the portal. The field was clear, but she managed to make it to her knees before the first wave hit.

Along the lines of the property, a spark lit up against the still darkened sky, and the blast brought on the pain as it sliced through her.  Beth could barely breathe when the sixth barrier fell. She knew there was something wrong with this, something off about the way things were, but there was no way to stop it now.

With the nausea that twisted her world, Beth made it to her feet, and the person closest to her.  Dean was just coming out of his daze when he watched the next wave hit her, making her stumble as she doubled over, clutching both her head and her stomach as her eyes tried to focus on his.  He rushed as much as he could, still breathless from the aftershock that had sent him flying, but he was there, keeping her on her feet.

“SAMMY!”  Dean called out and watched as his brother stirred, his first vision was Cas, lying not very far away and Dean watched him scramble towards the Angel.  

They couldn’t have been more than five feet from closing the distance, from reaching out and taking hold when the seventh barrier broke, and Dean felt her legs go out from under her, sending them both tripping over the ground.

Sam had Cas on his feet, moving towards them as Beth looked in Crowley’s direction.  The man wasn’t moving and her body shook as she realized he just might be gone, but her droopy eyes focused on him, willing him to get up, praying that he was still there, somewhere.  Cas let go, leaving Sam to stand by Beth’s side as he moved over to the fallen man.

Crowley lashed out with the blade, his eyes blinded by the light and still adjusting but Castiel took his wrist in his, hauling the unsteady King to his feet before he brought Crowley’s arm over his shoulder and moved towards the trio.

“We’ve got to get inside the bunker.”  Cas yelled as the next explosion moved the ground beneath them. Beth, barely conscious, felt this one knock against her chest, taking the wind from her as her heart pounded.  The eighth barrier was broken. “Once the ninth comes down they’ll be right on top of us.”

“Let’s go then,” Dean barked, “she’s not going to make it much longer out here.”  Dean turned to move but Cas reached out and suddenly they were standing in the middle of the warm, dry basement.

“You humans always have to do things the hard way.”  Cas smiled but suddenly disappeared. Two more zaps in and out and both Crowley and Sam stood beside Dean.

For the first time since the blast, she could see straight, but Castiel’s hand coming at her face was more than she could handle and she slipped from Dean’s grasp to back away.  It wasn’t that she was unsure of who and what he was but the barriers breaking down had left her uneasy about everything. She didn’t know what the Angel’s powers would do to her, not with the Goddess inside, not at this moment in time, but she knew one thing, she couldn’t let him touch her.

“I can help,” he whispered softly and she shook her head.

“You can’t.” She replied and listened to the footfalls upstairs.  “Becca and Mary!” 

The urgency to get them spurred her on to race up the stairs, followed quickly by Sam, and Dean moved swiftly after. Beth turned the corner, running straight into her brown-haired friend and she reached a hand out to her. Becca watched as Beth touched her neck, a gesture that she had never seen before, but Becca recognized the emotions in her eyes instantly.

That was when the house shook once more and Beth feel to her knees, the breath gone from her lungs as she tried as hard as she could to take air in, even the world looked blurry through her eyes.  The sounds of voices penetrated the strange fog that surrounded her and just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. In fact everything stopped.

There was no noise from outside, the rain had ceased it’s relentless chatter on the roof of the house, the refrigerator’s low hum was now an unearthly silence. There was nothing, not even the beating sounds of the hearts she knew well, her own blood was quiet in her ears and Beth stood.  

She stepped out into the living room, staring out the window as the others followed and watched the man who stood in the middle of the field.  She knew him, knew his face, his blazing hair, his crooked and evil grin and she knew just what was coming.

“Run!”  She snapped and turned to the others who had followed her.  “Everyone, move! Now!” 

Beth didn’t know how she did it, Mary was first, Sam was the next, Dean stopped in the doorway as she stood and stared at the man whose steps seemed to close the distance between him and the house.  Beth’s eyes filled with confusion as she shook herself from the trance and turned to Becca, the woman who stood by her side.

“Go, Becca!” She said with urgency and looked over at Dean.  “Go!”

She was right behind them! Dean would have sworn he had seen her on the stairway, would have vouched that she had made it down those stairs, but what he remembered was the last of the barriers crashing down around them.  That Becca was on the stairway behind him. That Beth was in the doorway just about to make that move into the safety of the bunker, but THAT was before the implosion of energy sent them all cascading into darkness.


	22. Hidden Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth is gone, the house is destroyed but that doesn't stop the boys from trying to track her down. Beth has had just about enough of this crap, it's time to fight back.

Hidden Away

SPN FanFic #22

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary, Crowley and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

**Carthage, New York**

 

Sam couldn’t hear anything except the ringing in his ear.  His eyes tried to adjust to the smoke that filled the air, but all he could make out was the blurry figures that stumbled around. The bunker had held, just as Beth said it would, but there was so much damage and the explosion had knocked everyone and everything onto the floor.  

What had once been sturdy beams above him had bent and/or fallen, but the ceiling had held, the doorway to the hidden closet panel was the only thing that let the light shine in, since the door had been blown off its hinges and the stairway half demolished. 

His head was heavy, as he turned to survey the people around him, and he had a hard time keeping it up as a figure dressed in black, most likely Crowley, was pulling Cas from the wreckage.  He could see his mother and Becca but it was the large silhouette coming at him that had him drawing back as far as he could.

“Sam!”  Dean’s voice penetrated the ring as it eased into a light hum but as his voice broke through, so did the pain. “Sammy!”

_ “Sam!” _ Beth whispered inside Sam’s head, and he turned to look for her, desperately trying to get to the stairway where he had seen her last. 

“Beth!”  He screamed as Dean came up from behind him and grabbed him under the arms, helping to his feet.  Sam turned, looking straight into his brother’s eyes with a look of sheer panic. “Where is she?”

“BETH!” Dean yelled but there was no response.  “Here,” Dean pulled on Sam, directing him towards the couch that surprisingly hadn’t been knocked over.  “Stay here! Sam!” Dean grabbed him by the face, forcing him to focus, “Sam! Stay here!”

There was no need to repeat it, at least that’s what Sam’s brain was thinking but the only thing that came out was a mild groan as the world began to spin.  He could hear Dean yelling, screaming her name as he moved the shattered wooden pieces of what was left of the stairway, but Sam knew deep down that she wasn’t there. 

_ “Sam.”  _ He could feel her, the confusion as she searched her mind for him and Sam fought to make the connection but he couldn’t break through the fog.  

Dean grabbed him by the shirt, and sat him up straight, not that he had realized that he was headed for the floor to begin with, but as Dean turned and moved him so he was sitting on the cushions, the spinning of the room began.

“Cas!”  Dean yelled and as the last of the humming cleared, the headache began, making his brother’s voice sound like a loud bark.  

Sam squinted at every syllable, wanting nothing but to go back to the silence just before the ring but he looked up when Cas put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the blue-eyed man and struggled to focus as Cas’ hand reached out and touched his forehead. Suddenly everything became real, the explosion, the aftermath and he turned in the chair to focus on the stairway.

“Beth?” Sam whispered as he saw the room clearly for the first time.  Debris from the stairway and the door spread all the way down to the little kitchenette and the couch, but there wasn’t enough to hide a body.  “Beth?”

Sam moved faster than Dean could grab him as he hopped the couch and made his way towards the broken stairway, there was no way up, no way out of the room.  He turned and made his way through the bunker, checking every room, including the storage room.

_ “Sam.” _ She whispered again and this time Sam listened, he closed his eyes as he stood by the end of the couch, fisted his hands so tight that he could feel the nails digging into his skin and concentrated on that voice in his head. 

_ “Beth,” _ The tingle was light but the connection was made and Sam breathed a sigh of relief that she was alive.  He scanned the house for her, what was left of it, and the property but his reach ended there. He couldn’t pinpoint her and he had no way of knowing where she was.  “Baby, where are you?” 

Sam asking aloud got the attention of everyone in the room and he waited for a moment, feeling the connection fade before he opened his eyes, his eyes filling with tears and unrelenting fear as he fell to his knees.  

Dean raced over, catching him as Sam leaned against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around his baby brother.  Dean tried to reach out, but his connection was completely gone. There was nothing to grasp onto except Sam.

“She’s gone.”  Sam whispered, and Dean placed a hand on the back of his head.  

“We need to find her!”  Crowley spoke up, which got a “duh” look from Dean as he held his brother tightly.  “The longer we wait…”

“Crowley!”  Becca snapped and he whipped his head in her direction.  “Shut up!”

“We need to assess the situation and find a way out.” Cas spoke up as the others struck up a conversation out of earshot from Sam and Dean.

Sam couldn’t move, it was as if he body was stuck in that same position and it wasn’t until Dean put his hands on Sam’s face that the younger brother bothered to look up.  Their eyes connected, on some deep brotherly level just for a moment, and Sam blinked.

“We’re going to find her, Sammy,” Dean whispered, “but they’re right, we have got to find a way out first so you need to snap out of it.  She’s not dead! If she were, we would feel it, but she’s just…out of range.”

Out of range?  Sam sat up, that was exactly what it felt like.  She was too far away, the connection was weak but it was still there, like she was moving and there was no way to get a handle on it.  Sam nodded, let the logic of those three simple words sink in and he slowly moved to his feet.

Dean knew that no amount of coddling was going to get his brother anywhere and it certainly wasn’t going to save Beth.  The hard truth was the only thing that sent the hunter moving and Dean followed suit as Sam made his way over to the stairway where they were clearing the wood.

“It’s not going to work,” Sam’s voice was hard, like his eyes had become and as Mary and Cas stared up at him, they knew it was for a reason.  Anything less than stone cold at this moment would bring Sam down, so he stayed as strong as he could, concentrated on something other than where his girl had gone and tried to find a solution.  “I need to get up there.” He looked at Cas, then at Crowley, focusing his eyes on the man in black. “I need you to take me upstairs.”

“Me?  Why me? What if there are still Olympians up there?”  Crowley questioned. It wasn’t a whine, just an honest thought spoken out loud.

“That’s exactly the reason it has to be you.”  Sam answered and watched the man walk over, grab him by the arm and suddenly they were standing in what was left of the living room.

 

The damage was extensive.  The large window that faced the field was completely annihilated, everything in the living room was turned over, every painting of the wall.  The kitchen table lay on its side but as Sam searched through the house, he knew that Beth had prepared for something like that. The bedrooms were safe, the research den hadn’t been touched.  The only space that needed repair was the room they had come in on.

“They knew exactly where the bunker’s entrance was,” Crowley stated and Sam looked up as he dug through the piles of downed books on the floor, but instead of saying something condescending to the King, Sam stopped and thought for a second.

He moved towards the door, grabbed the coat from the rack as the cold breeze slammed against him, and popped open the compartment where Beth’s crossbow hid.  He reached out slowly, as if he were sure it wasn’t real, but then shook himself, grabbing it by the barrel. He slung the strap over his shoulder and hooked the quiver to his belt before opening the door.

“Are you insane!”  Crowley yelled but Sam just shrugged and moved, with the man following closely behind, because there was no way he was letting Sam go out alone, not with the trigger-happy brother in the basement.  “Where are we going?”

The small shack still stood, untouched by the Olympians because it was virtually invisible to them.  But just like Castiel, Crowley wasn’t making it past the door. This little wooden hut had been their saving grace until the house came in and Sam reached out to touch the patch job on the door.  He could almost hear her voice as she leaned over and touched the wounded wood, a hole made by a shotgun rigged to go off if the door was opened.

_ “Okay,” she started as she stood, “I’m pretty positive that with the level of intelligence between the two of you that you would have check the windows before opening the door.” Sam scratched his head and looked off at the trees as Dean just leaned against car with his arms crossed. “No? Neither of you?” _

He had convinced Dean that she wasn’t dead when his mind had been under attack by the Harpies and now Dean was the one who had convinced him. He knew it in his heart, he could still feel her thumping through his veins.  

He turned to Crowley and slowly handed him the crossbow.  The look in the man’s eyes was amazing, like Crowley knew just how valuable the item he held was and Sam watched him run his hands over the wood.  

“Hello, beautiful,” he mumbled, which got a curious look from Sam.  “What? You don’t think she got something this powerful from a gun shop, do you?”  

“You gave her that?”  Sam questioned and watched the smile on his face.

“But don’t tell her,” it was almost a laugh.  “I left it on Becca’s doorstep, a “present” for her birthday early on, she never questioned it, but was instantly a pro.”

“Her father taught her how to shoot when we were kids.”  Sam said as he pried the door open and stepped inside the shack.  Crowley watched as he moved towards the back corner and looked down at the new floorboards.  “She was an ace before she was ten.”

“That would be why these things fly with such precision.”  

Sam shook his head, unable to get over the pride in the demon’s voice.

“You love her, don’t you?”  Sam questioned, looking for something, anything to pry the boards with and finally found the iron poker for the fireplace.

“As much as any demon can,” Crowley shrugged, his tone as unforgiving as his demeanor.  “I never expected her to end up with you.”

Sam stood straight and looked over at him, “but you watched us as kids, you saw how we were together.”

“And I watched you forget,” he admitted.  “If I could have stopped it, I would have but there’s no stopping fate.”

“Bullshit!” Sam replied and jabbed the poker down into the wood, using it as a crowbar as he peeled away the flooring.  Crowley, growing more and more curious about what he was doing, watched intensely as the boards were moved aside and Sam reached down into the space.  With a solid yank, the hatch opened and Sam turned, giving him a wink.

Beth had covered the folding ladder with plaster, making it blend in with the rest of the bunker’s ceiling but Sam had no problem with redesigning the inside of the underground space once more.  He walked over, braced himself against the wall as he held onto the beams and let those strong legs take care of the rest.

Four hard whacks of his foot was all it took to let the ladder give way and he was certainly glad he had something to hold onto because he went knee deep into the bunker.  Dean’s face was the first thing he saw when he looked down and the older brother jumped up to grab the rest of the ladder and bring it down, but he also gave Sam a crazy look.

Sam shrugged and turned back to Crowley, who slid the crossbow into the shack, blinked and then was gone.  Sam grabbed up the weapon, closed the door tightly, looking at the symbol painted on the inside of the door, something he had never seen before but still familiar and he slung the strap over his shoulder.  

He remembered all the times he had gone up and down the ladder, but he never thought that when he got to the bottom, that the smiling face of the woman he loved wouldn’t be there.  Dean met him and the two walked over to the now more organized counter top where Sam placed the crossbow. Crowley hadn’t returned to the bunker, instead Sam could hear the knocking of wood on the opening of the closest, that was when he noticed that Cas was also gone.

“They’re closing it up, helping to keep the draft out,” Dean announced and Sam smiled, as if that weren’t completely obvious to him, but Sam realized Dean’s intentions was just to keep his mind busy.  “How much?”

“How much what?”  Sam repeated, this time confused.

“The damage upstairs.  Is Beth going to kill us when we get her back?”  Sam smiled and shook his head.

“It’s the living room, it’s pretty destroyed, but nothing structurally wrong with it, everything else is intact, like they knew what they were going for.”  Sam answered as he busied himself with the map in front of him. “She’s on the move.”

“I know,” Dean whispered and looked up as Becca and Mary came closer.  “So once this place is solid, we should be too.”

“Yeah,” Sam said softly, but he looked over at the two women that were standing behind him.  “You two need to stay here.”

“We can help,” Becca replied.

“Or you could get killed.”  Sam was blunt with his answers, and Dean knew that he was covering his emotions.  “Beth’s in trouble. We can’t be worrying about you while we’re trying to get her out.”

“Sam!”  Dean scolded. 

“We don’t know what we’re up against, Dean, we don’t even know where they have her, what kind of conditions or how many of them there are, you know this.”  His lips turned into an angry frown as he looked over the three in front of them, “Look, I’m sorry but I’m not willing to risk anyone else’s life while we’re hunting these things.  We know what they can do, hell, we’ve run into enough of them to know what we need to bring them down, but we don’t have time for a history lesson on Olympians.” He grabbed a book and shook his head as he moved away from the counter, looking over Mary and Becca again.  “I’m sorry.”

Dean watched as he moved to the back of the room, grabbing the “Moby Dick” book from the shelf as he went and Dean shook his head.  He knew that Sam was right but that was no way to break it to one of their strongest allies. He crossed his arms for a second, debating on what to do and finally he walked off after his brother.  

Sam was standing by the dresser, candles lit, the runes drawn on the dark cherry wood.  Dean knew what he was going to see next, and there it was, the drawing, the counter spell was opened and laid out before him.

“You didn’t have to be such a dick!”  Dean growled but he knew at that point there was no getting through to Sam.  He had shut down his emotions. Hell, if Dean had a choice he would have too but he was used to being the strong one.  

“Dean,” he turned towards his brother and raised a hand, about to tell him to go screw off but he stopped and thought about his words. “I can’t… I can’t think about anything else besides getting her back. You are the only one I want at my side when we do this because I know you and I know you can handle yourself.”

“And you don’t think Mom can?” Dean walked over and shut the door.  “Listen, Sam, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“We’ve got the help,” he answered, raising his eyebrows as he turned back to the paper. “It’s all here.”

“What?”  Dean crossed the room with only a few long strides and looked down at the drawing.  Sam pointed at the lettering inside the red and watched as Dean grabbed his hand, making Sam slide the paper over.

“All the key players, they were right in front of us this whole time.” Dean shook his head.

“Maybe it’s a trick,” he shrugged looking up at Sam.  “Oh, come on, you can’t honestly expect me to believe that Cas and Crowley were destined to be part of this because of some obscure drawing that Beth did as a kid.”

“This one isn’t old,” Sam whispered and flipped open the book.  Dean’s face went blank as he stared at the folded piece of paper inside the book.  Sam took it gently and unfolded it, setting it beside the one that was already on the table. They were an exact match.  “She drew this one,” he pointed to the one on the left, “last night. The one in the book is two decades old. There aren’t any new players, Dean, we’ve all been there since the beginning.”

Sam handed him the newer one, the one without the spell on it and Dean sat down on the bed.  “How could she have known?” he pointed to the symbols and shook his head. “Enochian, Latin, the hunters symbol, they’re all on the outside, all blended into the red.”

“But no Greek, which means Becca doesn’t come and only two hunter, Dean.”  He looked up at Sam a bit confused and watched the younger one place the older spell into the book, shutting it tightly.  Sam sat beside him and took the paper in his hand. “The tattoo, it’s not one, but two.”

“Where?”  Dean looked closer, answering his own question as he noticed how the sun seemed to pop of the paper.  “It’s has a shadow.”

“The other one is just like this. That’s why it caught my eye when we were younger, it popped off the paper.  Two hunters, one angel and one demon.” Sam shook his head. “Four major players in a plot to counter the spell, the Grand Pentacle that will bring down Tartarus and unleash the Titans.”

Dean handed him the paper, closed his eyes and rested his forehead in his hands.  “You would think she would have told us this crap sooner.” Sam smiled, leave it to Dean to make some sort of smartass remark in the middle of a bleak situation.  “How the hell are we going to find her?”

Sam grabbed the paper and turned it over.  “She left a little clue.”

The numbers on the back were code, one that he had seen before. Dean looked at the numbers 43-71, but they didn’t make much sense to him.  Beth was telling him something they already knew. Dunbarton was exactly where they were headed but these weren’t just latitude and Longitude, they were something much more significant.

Dean felt the bed move and watched as Sam folded the new paper and tucked it into his pocket while he fished for Beth’s hiding spot in the wall to stash the book.  

“As soon as the walls are up, the bunker is secure, we need to go, Dean.”  He wasn’t kidding around and Dean felt the urgency flowing from his brother.

“Yeah,” Dean whispered and watched Sam head towards the door, “copy that.” But the fear that was rising up in his gut told him that things here weren’t quite done.

 

**Dunbarton, New Hampshire**

 

Beth could feel the movement of whatever was going on, but she couldn’t see a thing. Her breathing was heavy and hot which meant there was a bag over her head, some itchy burlap thing with a pull string that was a bit too tight on her neck.  Her hands were zip-tied painfully behind her back and her ankles where the ties had rubbed were raw and bleeding. 

The ringing from the explosion had passed hours ago, but there was still nothing to hear. It wasn’t warm where she was, but it wasn’t as cold as it should have been and she could feel the rough carpet under her bare legs.  A trunk, she was locked in the trunk of a car. She could smell the gasoline from a newly filled tank, the lug wrench was behind her close enough to reach but too much to grab, and as the car moved, she could feel the plastic bottles hitting against her.

Her mind reached out, powerful enough to make a connection, not strong enough to keep it. 

“Sam.” She whispered and felt him wake from the daze, his mind still in some sort of shock and confusion, but she need him to know she was alive.  Her mind worked out multiple scenarios of how to escape, kicking out the light, if she had a free leg. Breaking the lock on the tailgate, if her hands were loose.  Screaming for help, but they were going too fast. She had gotten in way too deep this time, but it didn’t make her mind stop going. 

Her breath came faster as she held onto that fading connection.  

“Sam.” Just a gasp, anything to bring him through just to get him to feel her. She put her head down against the rug, the burlap pressing in against her skin and she imagined being in the room with him, trying to picture the way that the bunker would have looked as she did but there was nothing, no amount of imagination would help her to grasp what she had left behind.  “Sam.”

That last effort was a crapshoot, she never thought she would feel it, but there it was, that tingle, that familiar tickle at the edge of her mind and she couldn’t help the tear that flowed down her cheek.

_ “Beth,” _ was the only word she got, but it was enough to let her know, he was alive and he if was still kicking so was Dean and they would both be coming for her, they just needed to know where to look.  

The car rolled to a stop and the connection instantly disappeared, not because she broke it, or because Sam couldn’t hold on but they had crossed a barrier, some sort of ward that severed all ties and she heard the trunk pop open.

With everything she had, she fought against the two sets of hands that grabbed her, lifting her out of the car, one under her arms, digging into the spot between her armpits and the other grabbed her by the ankles, causing more pain and blood to seep from those wounds.  She wiggled about, and tossed her head backwards, hoping to catch someone with that thick skull Dean was always so fond of talking about, but they were smart, they kept their distance and she kept struggling until the sharp edge of a blade came down across her bare leg.

“Stop moving or we’re just going to drop you!”  A stern male voice ordered, and she did stop, not because of the order but because the pain of the cut was the first real evidence that she was alive and she wanted to savor that moment, the way that it seared through her.

“When I get loose, I will kill you.”  She growled through the burlap.

“Good luck with that one, Lady, you have to figure out who we are first.”  The one up by her head laughed, but it wouldn’t be hard to find them. 

She put their voices to memory, the way their hands felt against her, the sound of their footsteps against the hard cement ground, the smell of their cologne and faintly, the thump of their hearts. In the darkness, she smiled as she found what she needed to survive.  Sam was alive, Dean was alive but as much as she needed them at that moment, she needed something much more than they could give, she needed something that only one man had ever given her. Rage!

 

The blackness came with a price, blinding white light when they removed the bag and Beth’s eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough to get an image of the two that had dropped her to the concrete floor.  The ties on her hands and ankles were unclipped, allowing her to move, but the spot where they had dumped her gave her no shadows to hide from the searing light of the sun that blazed in through the window.  

It was warm though, a blessing in disguise, and she basked in it for a few moments as her eyes adjusted.  As the light gave way to shadows and actual images, she could see how much the ties had dug into her legs, and gently she reached down, touching the raw spots.  As soon as she did, she didn’t regret it, but let the pain flow through her. It was real, SHE was real.

Her wrists weren’t as bad, she had kept them steady during the ride but being a nervous person in general, her feet had moved constantly , creating the burns from the plastic and the way the dug in.  The slice on her leg was superficial, but still she was covered in dried blood. In her mind she wished it were someone else’s, that she had put up a fight instead of being blown off the stairway in a desperate attempt to save the others.  She had succeeded but had let herself be caught.

It didn’t matter much, she had the tools she needed to figure out something.  Beth glanced around the room, thinking about how it reminded her of Bobby’s panic room without the symbols. A drain on the floor, round iron walls, the small fan that let the light in and a bed, but the books were missing and the Devil’s Trap that would have had Crowley pissing and moaning.

 

Bobby’s memory came to her as she stood positioned for a fight and he smiled at her. There was no way he was going to be her punching bag but the grin told her everything she needed to know.  He had taught her how to read faces, body movements, after Crowley had given her the rage and her first instinct was to kill, Bobby had given her other tools. She watched him for a little while, as she bounced in place ready to go and with the first swing of her hand, he moved, bringing his arm up to block her, but she didn’t punch, she grabbed and the two of them stood there, his arm in her small fist smiling at each other.

_ “Never underestimate the power of your opponent.”  _ His voice echoed in his head.  _ “Or the lengths they will go to watch you suffer.” _

Those words, they stuck and she smiled up at the small camera she had found in the small vent in the corner.  Beth stood, bracing herself for the pain as she put pressure down on her legs. The cut started to bleed once more, the movement having broken the internal bonding of the proteins that had started to seal it shut and she limped over to the bed, not realizing just what kind of trauma the blast had caused.

Her lungs fought for breath as she pulled the nightgown away from her and looked at the bruising on her chest and abdomen.  Her mind raced towards images of Sam and Dean, as she took a mental inventory of her injuries before she started to feel her eyes growing heavy.  She couldn’t sit, couldn’t stay still, it would make her weak, and she couldn’t have that.

Beth stood once more, making her way to the other side of the cage she was in and leaned against the wall to catch her breath before she started back over where she had began.  She did this for as long as she could, hoping that nothing would stand in her way.

 

Sam stared out the windshield as Dean drove silently down the road, he was worried for his younger brother.  Sam’s goodbye was only a hug, to both Becca and Mary, there were no words exchanged. Sam didn’t even blink, he just hugged them with one arm and got into the car.  Six hours. Six hours until they were anywhere near Dunbarton, and Dean’s only entertainment was the Angel and Demon in the backseat.

Dean’s green eyes focused on them through the rearview.  Crowley watched out the side window as Cas stared him down, and while it was a pretty funny expression to see on the blue-eyed man, it was almost as if Cas was upset.

Silence was going to be the death of him!

Dean reached over and turned on the radio, the instant the music popped on Sam turned to him.  There was no way “Stairway to Heaven” was a coincidence, but when Sam reached over to touch the dial Dean slapped his hand away.

“Driver,” he said pointing at himself, “shotgun,” he smiled, gesturing back to Sam who sat back in the seat, but it was at that moment that Dean noticed the difference.  “Hey, someone’s been playing with my music.”

“No one’s touched your music Dean, in like ever!” Sam rolled his eyes.

“No, seriously,” Dean whispered as he turned it up.

“Come on, Dean,” Sam grumbled, but that was when he heard it too.  There, just under the song was a voice. “Wait, what is that?” Dean’s eyes got wide as Sam actually turned UP the music.  “Where did you get this tape from?”

“It’s not mine.”  Dean replied and watched as Sam went through the box of tapes that sat by his feet.  He pulled out the Led Zeppelin tape with Dean’s handwriting on it and the two brothers exchanged a curious look. “Well, we did say Beth wasn’t listening, maybe we weren’t either.”

Dean popped the tape out of the player and Sam scooped it up.  He knew Paul’s handwriting from the journal and shook his head.  The only thing it said was “Beth’s song”. Sam popped it back in and turned it up just a little to see if they could make out more of what was underneath it.

“That’s not even good Greek,” Cas mumbled in the backseat, which caught Dean’s eyes in the mirror and Sam turned in the seat to stare at him.  “The words under the music are Greek, and not very well pronounced.”

“You can hear that?”  Dean questioned.

“Yes,” Cas stated and concentrated on the words.  “It’s a spell.”

“Aren’t they all?”  Sam grumbled and rolled his eyes, “what is it this time?”

Castiel started mumbling off words in Greek, not converting them to English and suddenly Crowley put his hand over Castiel’s mouth, “well don’t continue to spout it off unless your intention is to bring every Olympian in four thousand miles raining down on us!”

Cas pulled his hand off, “Please don’t do that again, your hand is dirty and it smells like whiskey and…”Cas paused, he knew the scent of the perfume just underneath that smell.  “Why does your hand smell like Becca?”

“I gave her a hug before we left,” Crowley stated, a little too fast for Dean to believe but Cas seemed to be none the wiser.  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

“I’m not wearing panties.”

“Cas!” Dean spoke up, shaking his head and the two in the backseat quieted down as Dean glanced at Sam.  “We’ve never played this in the car, how did it get in here?”

“I don’t know,” Sam shook his head and popped it out, placing it on the seat.  “The voice in the background sounded familiar too, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, like a guy we knew,” Dean growled as he shifted in his seat, anger growing by the minute.  “The longer this goes on, the more I’m glad I was the one that put his body on that fire.”

“What if Paul knew just what he was doing?”  Sam questioned, looking out the window once again.  “I mean, he already had Serena and Paul John, why go with someone else and stop after one child?”

“You mean after they had Beth?”  Dean questioned. “Not everyone wants a dozen and a half kids like you, Sammy.”

“Think about it for a second,” Sam turned in the seat and looked at him.  “The truck was coming from the driver’s side, how could Paul not see that it was aimed right at him, and the only two that died were PJ and Kristen?  It hit his side, how the hell did he survive if it killed them?”

“We had a truck take us out too, no one died.”  Dean said sternly.

“But you did,” Sam whispered and watched as Dean’s green eyes captured his.  “That’s when you met Tess in the hospital. Dean, we know Serena was something more than just a little girl, that Leita was some badass witch, and that Peter was into it too, and a hunter, what if Paul was something more than he let on?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, but that combination, a descendent of a North Wind and someone who can save themselves from an accident like that, would make one powerful offspring.” Sam watched as Dean scowled.

“I wish he were alive right now, I’d kill him!”  Sam smiled at Dean’s response, always the same thing, death to those who pissed him off, which worked right now because they were going to need that kind of attitude.  

 

Beth walked the room for what felt like hours, there was no sound, no footfalls down the hallway, not even an echo of her bare feet as they touched the ground.  She was in complete silence, a isolation practice that would have had any sane person going mad by that point, but she had been in a situation like that before, a long time ago, and she found that she was stepping back into that world, the one where it was just her motions controlling her, not her emotions.

For a moment, she paused and glanced up at the camera, there hadn’t been any movement from the eye in a while, which meant that she was doing the right thing, not giving them anything to look at but the thoughts in her head were running rampant.   The bleeding had stopped, the pain was now numb and her eyes saw everything, every bolt, every crack in the iron walls and every small detail that others might not have noticed, like the rusted pins on the hatch door.

With a sigh, she decided to switch up her routine and she found a spot on the bed where she sat back against the cold wall and pulled her knees to her chest, covering up with the rest of the stained nightgown so only her feet peeked out from underneath.  She leaned her head back, feeling the chill through her hair and she watched the room.

A memory flooded in, one from long ago after Crowley had left her with Becca, after the last demon hunt had come to an end.  She had been caught by a group of people, not vampires, not even monsters, they were human, and smart, but she knew that if she stayed quiet there wouldn’t be any reason for them to harm her.  She had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was similar to this room, isolation, no windows and just a door but the difference was that no matter how much time passed, someone always checked in. He was a gruff older man, who reminded her of Dean in looks but not in attitude, though he could see where the Winchester man had gotten it from.  She knew he was related to the boys, Campbell wasn’t really a common name amongst the hunters unless they were referring to the Campbell compound, and how it wasn’t really a place you wanted to be, but there she was, locked up.

She was at least dressed at that point, no nightgowns or flimsy dress.  Boots, jeans, a thermal shirt and her jacket. The nice one with all the little hidden pockets that were thick enough to get something past a crappy pat down like Christian had done when they first brought her in. 

Beth was sitting on the bed, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared up at the wall, wishing she had a tennis ball or something, but that was when the door opened and he walked in.  Just over six foot, same as his grandchildren, balding head, salt and pepper hair and he stood in the doorway, two insignificant people standing behind him, as if that were going to stop her from getting out, but the way he looked at her gave her the chills.

“What were you doing on the property?”  Was the question that came out of his mouth.  Beth glanced to her left, towards the empty wall before turning back to him.

“Tracking a vamp,” she shrugged and watched as he looked at her, not so much confused as to why she would be tracking one but that she was a hunter at all.  “I followed it here, thought you might be part of its nest.”

“Do I look like a vamp to you?”  She half expected a “son” to come out after that sentence and she couldn’t help but smile at the comic part of the whole situation. 

“Not at all,” she answered and scooted forward so she was able to plant her feet on the ground.  “In fact, I was pretty surprised that, with your kind of security, it would have been able to make it through the front gate, let alone the side fencing.”

“Who are you?”  He questioned and watched the “bite me” grin roll up on the corners of her mouth.  He flipped open her fake IDs and tossed them on the bed one at a time. “None of these names pop up in the database. So, again, who are you?”

“Just a hunter, no one of importance.”  Beth shrugged leaning forward to place her elbows on her knees.  “Why are you so deep underground? You would think with a compound this large that monsters wouldn’t be within forty clicks of this place.”

“I’ll ask the questions, you just answer them and then you can be on your way.”  He was giving her an order, as if she didn’t have a choice but Beth closed her lips and looked up into his eyes.

“Like I said, I’m just a hunter.”  He nodded, frustrated with her answers and turned to leave.

Beth watched as that door closed and she dug into her pocket, grabbing the small dart that hid there.  Whoever the ones behind him were, they took their sweet time getting that door shut, and just enough so that when she gave it a toss, it hit dead on to block the slide.  There was no way that door was shutting completely and the lock was compromised.

“Yep,” she said softly to herself as she made her way towards the door and listened through the crack as the footfalls on the other side walked swiftly away. There wouldn’t be any guards, she was no threat to them.  Some five-foot-nothing girl wasn’t going to put a damper on anything they had planned. “Just a hunter.”

She pushed the door open slowly, feeling the lock release as she wiggled the dart free and grinned at the small pointed object as she slipped it back in her pocket but thought otherwise and pulled out the other five, just in case.  

Beth glanced up and down the hallway and found it to be empty and dark, but the breeze that flowed through it gave her an idea, or at least a plan of escape.  She licked her fingers, held them up in the air and followed the path that was the coldest. When she got to the small broken window, without any opposition, she found it odd that no one was around, no one seemed to even care that one of the prisoners had moved out of the room.

It was then, as she tried her damnedest to break the window open more so she could get out, that she felt a shadow loom over her.  Slowly she turned, and looked up at the tall man that stood before her. It was a face she recognized, even with the long, dark-brown hair and her heart skipped a beat as he stared her down with blue-green eyes, but they didn’t recognize her, in fact much of the emotion was gone in them.

“Exactly where do you think you’re going?”  Sam asked, at least it had to be Sam, her Sam.  His voice was the same, the face, the eyes but of course he didn’t remember her.

“Look, Mister, I don’t belong here, I just stumbled on the place.” She pleaded, placing the darts carefully back in her coat, hoping to not have to use them on him and she watched as he glanced down the corridor, first one way and then the other before he folded his hands together and shrugged.

“Get out, don’t come back.”  Sam instructed in a cold voice.  Beth reached out for him, placed both hands on his shoulders, sending shockwaves through her body and she watched the strange reaction on his face, but it was gone just as quickly as it came and he hoisted her up to the window.  

Beth crawled out in the snow and watched as he stared up at her, while she continued to lay low, waiting for the right time, but that was when he slipped her the small gun, a Walther P22.  She slowly took it from his hands, touching those fingers as she did and he raised an eyebrow. 

“Go!”  He ordered and watched as she scrambled up and disappeared into the darkness, the gun ready for action.

Beth didn’t know until later that his soul was gone, that there was a reason for that coldness in his eyes but she knew that their touch had sparked something, not a memory but a feeling and from the sidelines, just beyond the tires of a truck, she could see down into the window. She watched as he stood there for a minute more, a strange confused look on his face as he drew his hand back in from the cold air, his brow creased at the connection but then he walked on.

 

“Sam,” she whispered out  loud and closed her eyes for just a second, long enough to be startled by the loud noise that shattered the silence of the room, like an old air strike horn from the old days.  Beth moved off the bed and tried to pinpoint where it came from.

“Kneel down on the floor and put your hands behind your head!” The male voice over the intercom ordered but Beth wasn’t paying much attention.  She wanted to know just what the hell was going on. The blaring horn had stopped and the water rushed in on her feet. “Kneel down on the floor and put your hands behind your head!”

“Screw you!”  She hollered back as the water reached her toes, just enough to make the floor beneath her wet and she listened as he repeated it one more time.

“Last warning!” The man stated and suddenly a shock ran through her body.  The water underfoot was fully charged and Beth found herself screaming inside as the electricity flowed up her legs and brought her to her knees. It was over before her hands touched the water and with blurry vision, she watched the door to the room open.  Behind a mask and a voice modulator the voice came once again. “Put your hands behind your head.”

Beth, still reeling from the shock did what she was told, but her emotions were locked away, only the pain of her arms being twisted back reminded her that she was still alive, that she needed to fight and she let the rage build.

 

Sam screamed out, startling Dean as he suddenly pulled the Impala to the side of the road. Sam’s hands went to his head and he winced at the pain that flashed through him.  The rage inside his body tingled and that emotion Dean picked up on.

“She’s fighting.”  Sam growled, something that Dean hadn’t heard in a long time.  Sam was picking up on her, which wasn’t unusual, but the link had severed just hours before.  The feeling faded and Sam leaned his head back, trying to catch her breath. “God, she’s strong.”

“What happened?”  His brother wondered and Sam shook his head.

“It was like an electrical charge,” Sam said breathlessly, and looked over at Dean, rubbing his hand along his cheek.  “I have a really bad feeling about this.”

“We’re almost there,” Dean reassured and watched as Sam blinked passed the shock.  “We’ll get to her.”

“Not soon enough,” Sam turned and looked at Crowley, “she’s flipped her switch, the Beth I felt wasn’t her.”

“It was the rage,” Crowley replied with a smile.  “No worries then,” Sam gave him a strange look, but Crowley knew just what was happening, “she’s about to tear them apart.”

 

Beth was thrown into the room, her hands loose by her side and a twelve-inch Bowie lying not more than two feet from her and she reached down, scooping it up. She twisted it in her hand, getting a feel for the balance as she looked around this room, not much different than the one she was taken from , save for the windows and the Grand Pentacle etched into the cement below her feet. Her heart quickened as she felt them arrive.

Demons, black-eyed sons of bitches that she had been fighting her whole life, were now surrounding her.  Not more than a dozen but enough that she would have been outnumbered if she were anyone else. Beth smiled and silently thanked Crowley, something she never thought she would do as the speakers above her crackled.

“Let it begin!”  Was all it said and they moved in on her.  

Beth closed her eyes for a second, probably not the best thing to do when you have people who aimed to kill you making their move, but she wasn’t afraid. She let that rage fill every fiber of her being as she thought back to the ones she had destroyed in the past.  The anger, the revenge, the utter annihilation of things that needed to be hunted, the evil things that haunted every child’s dreams and when she opened her eyes, she was ready.

That Bowie should have been a sword with the way that she went through them, the blood coating the floor, but the demons weren’t without their blows but with every slice of her skin came the boiling hatred that fueled her blood even more.  

At the end of what felt like hours of battle, Beth stood triumphant, her body and weapon dripping with the crimson liquid as she looked up towards the camera, her face completely covered with red, the only thing that seemed to show through was the blue eyes that shined silver in the light of the sun, what little shined in through the blood spattered glass.

She was pure rage at that point, once again Crowley’s soldier and when those doors opened, she smiled, one of lost innocence, of defiance, of danger, but she dropped the knife, and knelt on the floor before she was told, her hands up against her head, never taking her eyes from the camera.  She wanted them to see what they had done, because it was going to be their end.

 

Sam knew what he was feeling, the thrill of the hunt, the way that an animal would move through the woods tracking its prey and then there was the joy of catching it.  He could even feel the adrenaline from the kill and he knew that Beth had crossed that line. His heart sank but he knew it was the only way for her to survive. He closed his eyes and prayed that she could feel him within her, that she held onto that small spark of humanity until he could get to her.

Dean glanced over at his brother, at the sadness in his eyes, and he knew just what he was feeling, but Dean saw it differently.  He knew she was doing what she needed to survive and as the hunter in him connected with her, he knew that nothing would stand in her way.  _ Nothing! _

 

The pressure from the hose wasn’t nearly as bad as she expected, it helped her come through, to let the anger go, at least for that time. It was the chill in the water that soaked her to the bones and she remembered the feeling of the Wither, and the nymph as the poisons raced through her. With her eyes closed, she pressed her body against the metal, her hands touching anything that was real as the blood was forced from her skin, draining down onto the tiled floor until it rain pink and then clear and she stood there shivering.  

Someone approached her, but the fight, at least for the moment was gone.  She was handed a towel and another gown, which she used to dry off and change into, no matter who stood in the room and quietly, like a mouse in a trap, she moved down the hallway towards the room.  They thought she was being passive, no need for restraints, no need to hold her arms as they went along, since she was practically tiptoeing down the freezing cement floor. However, she was taking in everything, and like the Campbell compound, there wasn’t an inch of wall that she hadn’t memorized by the time she reached the iron door.

With a gentle shove inside, she turned towards the men who stood on the other side.  Her eyes got a good look at them this time, both good-looking but very stern, dressed in all black but not suits, jeans more likely. She tilted her head, taking in the turtleneck shirts, assuming that wherever they were stationed in this place was colder than her room, the black jackets confirmed that they were ready for something and she noticed the way the jackets sat, one on each side.  They were packing, probably 9mm from the size of them. 

Their faces weren’t much different, one older, one slightly younger and more jittery as the door closed.  Beth wished she had those darts right now but there was nothing she could do as they locked it behind them.  

She moved over to the bed, sat down quietly and dropped the towel beside her.  Gently, in order to assess her situation, she licked her lips, closed her eyes and let her fingertips run over each slice.  Six on her right, almost seven on her left. Three on her leg, where some pansy had tried to catch her before she jabbed the blade through his skull,  two by her foot and one on her face, right across the left cheek. All and all, not bad and definitely something she could deal with. They had all started healing, none of them bled and she could feel the process beginning inside.  She knew that Hera was weakened by the barriers that surrounded the building but still strong enough to help her with her injuries, but she knew that what was coming next was about to be so much worse.

 

Dean glanced over at Sam, who was sitting with his eyes closed, his forehead against the glass of the side window.  He wasn’t asleep, just dealing with the emotional wreckage that even Dean could feel the closer they got. He sighed, looking back at the road and reached out, hoping to catch some part of Beth, but she had gone quiet, at least with her emotions and he feared that the ones she had let off before were just part of her instincts.  They had been a part of each other for such a long time that there was nothing he couldn’t feel from her, but to have everything be such a blank canvas was a bit overwhelming.

“You worry too much about her,” Cas spoke up from the backseat and Dean glanced up in the rearview.  Cas was looking out the window, not really paying any attention to the man in the front seat but he was definitely not addressing him.  “She’s been through so much.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Crowley added and Dean’s gaze shifted to him, again the man wasn’t looking up front, which was when Dean realized, they weren’t speaking to him at all, or about Beth.  “She’s stronger than you give her credit for.”

“I give her credit for everything she’s done, past and present.”  Cas continued the exchange.

“Everything?”  Crowley smiled.  “Everything would be falling in love with a demon that took her best friend and put her through hellfire!”

“I know she loves you,” Cas stated, which made Crowley’s head whip in his direction, but Cas’ eyes never left the passing trees.  “I’ve known for a while now.”

“You have?”  The whole thing seemed to confuse him, “yet you want to stay with her.”

“What she felt for you, or feels for you now, is no concern of mine, only what she feels for me.”  

Dean was floored by this whole conversation and had to get in on it, “Wait, are you talking about Becca?”

“Yes, my dear boy, now be good and pay attention to the road,” Crowley smiled and watched as Dean glanced back in shock at being ordered. Cas turned to Dean, gave him the best bitch-face he could and then slowly looked at Crowley.  “If it gives you any solace, I told her she needed to be with you, that you were better for her than I will ever be.”

“I appreciate your confidence, but I think Becca can figure out what she wants all on her own.”  Cas answered and Dean shook his head, completely floor.

“Could we not talk about your love triangle while we’re trying to figure out mine?”  Dean questioned and then realized exactly what he had just said and shook his head again.  “You know what I mean! Just cut the crap!”

“We will continue this conversation later.”  Cas nodded and went back to staring out the window.

Crowley seemed floored that Castiel would give up on the argument so quickly but there seemed to be other things on everyone’s mind and the phone on the seat between Dean vibrated, which woke Sam from whatever trance he were in.

Dean took just a second to swipe his finger across the screen and press the speaker button.  “Yeah, Bec, what’s up?”

_ “You’re not going to believe this,” _ her voice seemed tense but he knew she was safely down in the bunker.

“Right now, I believe in just about anything.” 

_ “Well, here’s a new one for you then,”  _ she took a deep breath,  _ “the counter spell is in Greek.” _

“We knew that,” Dean gave his best “get to the point” voice.

_ “The original summoning spell is in Latin,” _ he could hear pages being turned as Sam slowly sat forward.  

“Beth never drew the original one,” Sam added.

_ “She didn’t, but Paul did.”  _ Both Sam and Dean exchanged looks and a moment of silence.

“He apparently recorded it under the music that he played for Beth too,” Sam shrugged, “but Cas said that it was in Greek.”

“Poorly spoken Greek.” Cas chimed in.

_ “So here is what I got,”  _ she continued, ignoring the men in the car,  _ “when you go through Paul’s journal, there are discrepancies that aren’t accountable for. Words on the pages where they shouldn’t be, that kind of thing, but if you read just the words, they are just like the spell on Beth’s drawing, but since we know that Beth’s is the counter, this one makes perfect sense.” _

“Alright, so what does that get us?” Dean questioned.

_ “Insight to what they need, but I’ve only got one of them down and it’s kind of jumbled.”  _

“Perfect.”  Dean didn’t even want to ask what that was but Sam needed to know. “Shoot.”

_ “Blood spilled by the last of her kind, both from her victims and from her,” _ Sam looked at him worried and Crowley shook his head. 

“Beth’s rage.” Sam whispered. 

“If you find out more, call, we need to know as much about this spell as we can.”  Dean spoke up and exhaled softly.

_ “One more thing,”  _ Dean paused at the disconnect button.  _ “43-71, those aren’t coordinates, it’s how many times this spell has been attempted.  Tries and fails, but there is something else. Together they equal 114.” _

“Okay?” Dean was a bit confused.

“114 years ago, Jeramiah Maison was born.” Crowley spoke up.  Dean wanted to close his eyes, wanted to turn around and smack the man but he didn’t he just held his breath.

_ “The first of the marked North Winds,”  _ Becca added.

Sam rubbed his eyes as he thought about it for a moment.  “Beth’s the last of her kind, the last North Wind, no wonder Hera protected Jeramiah, she knew when they were going to try again.”

“We gotta go,” Dean said sharply and glanced over at Sam, “and we’ve gotta go fast.”

Dean stepped on the accelerator, pressing down as hard as he could and felt the car take off like a bat out of hell.

 

Beth slept, or at least that’s what they thought she was doing, with her back to the camera, her eyes tightly closed but what she was doing was sending herself outwards.  She could feel it when she left her body, let the nature of it take over and suddenly she was standing outside the door. Of course, without Sam, she couldn’t move anything, he was her anchor to the physical world but wandering around the place seemed like a good pastime.  

She moved slowly, stepping out of the way of those who couldn’t see her to begin with but she knew if they passed through her, they might notice her presence.  She traveled down the hallway they had lead her from, back to the room with the Grand Pentacle inside but once she stepped through the door she could feel the magic.  She knew now why it had to be there for the slaughter, for the pentacle ran red with her blood and the blood of the demons. 

It was charged with rage, hatred and anger, but nothing that would help them connect with the other side, nothing that would let them open the doors and let the Gods out.  Slowly she stepped on any spot that wasn’t drenched in blood, which was very few and a crazy smile came to her face as she admired her job well done, but what she saw when she stepped up to the altar was something she had hoped wasn’t real.

Golden cups marked with Greek symbols lined the cloth, one with the Trident for Poseidon, a lightning bolt for Zeus and a Key for Hades, all of them full of blood, old thick coagulated blood and she knew that the last bowl, the one with the wings adorning it was empty.  With a loud sigh, she turned and looked at the man in the room. 

He stood there, watching her, as if he could see her and he smiled at the confusion on her face.  She knew this man, knew him very well but she hadn’t seen him this young in years. Beth shook her head, as the confusion faded and stepped down once again this time, not bothering with the fact that her feet were now coated in crimson liquid.

“I should have known you'd be here.”  She smiled and watched as he matched her steps as she walked along the outside of the circle and he moved to stay directly across from her.  “I should have known from the jump that this was all something you started.”

“I never started anything, Beth,” Paul’s voice was as crisp as the day that he had said his first words to her and she shrugged.  “I just continued where Leita had failed.”

“My mother, Paul John,” Beth whispered and looked at him with sadness, “that wasn’t an accident, was it?”

“I had to know which one of my girls was the key.”

“A key, to what?  The end of the world as we know it?” she laughed, she was talking to a ghost and she never even flinched.  “We were hunters, I still am and I know how this whole “end of the world” thing ends, Dad. Never any good for the bad guys.”

“You weren’t supposed to survive this long to get that kind of knowledge.”  Paul shook his head. 

“I wasn’t supposed to live at all.”  She growled. “I should have never been born, do you know that?  Greek Gods, Demons? They all had a part in keeping me around, saving me from something like you, keeping me here for what?  This end?”

“We didn’t know about your angel,” Paul shrugged and watched as she nodded. 

“And if you did, what would you have done about it?  You can’t touch him.” She took in a deep breath, the smell of blood and death surrounding her.  “You can’t touch me.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can, we just have to find that little niche.”  

Beth was ripped back to her body, the astral plane was gone and the disorientation of being suddenly awake made it hard for her to get her barring as they grabbed her by the arms and dragged her from the room.  Beth kicked as she tried to recover, trying to find her feet along the smooth concrete when finally she hit a dip in the ground and she used it to her advantage. Her body came to a complete stop and the two that held her glanced back, long enough for her to make a move.  

Using their arms as leverage, she kicked up her legs, slamming them both in the face as she flipped over, which released their grip and Beth tumbled to the ground.  She felt the landing through every bone in her body but she got up, favoring an ankle as she did but the two big men were also up on their feet. Beth did her best to put up a fight against their maneuvers and found herself close enough to grab the gun from the holster of the younger one. 

Her eyes focused on him, as she clicked the safety off and fired a round into his chest, sending him backwards to the floor.  The older one tried to get the jump on her but Beth ducked, sliding across the blood that began to pool and she turned to look at him, gun pointed directly at his head as her lip curled up and she smiled.

“I told you I would kill you,” she whispered and watched as he smiled, but she didn’t wait for him to reply before her finger squeezed and the gun went off, echoing through the building.  Beth waited, watching him kneel to the floor and she turned in her spot to see a tall man, neatly dressed, with reddish hair and a suave smile on his face. He clapped his hands, which echoed off the silent building and Beth adjusted the gun in her hand.  “Hello, Uncle Peter.”

“Put down the gun, girl.”  He instructed; his hands up in the air, as if he were unarmed, but she could feel the magic that came off from him.

“No, I think I’ll keep it,” she whispered and watched as he stepped closer.  Beth backed up, sending out her senses to feel for what was behind her as she stepped over the bodies of the guards that slickened the floor.  Her ankle throbbed but there wasn’t much she could do about it now, she just needed to get out. “Stop, don’t make me shoot you!”

“If you’d like you can certainly give it a try.”  Peter replied with a cocky smile as Beth heard the guards behind her, two were sneaking up around the corner. She could hear their feet hitting the floor and just as quickly as they turned the corner, she turned and fired off two shots, both went down.  “He did train you well, didn’t he?”

“He who?”  she questioned and watched as Peter smiled.

“Paul, who else would make you that good of a shot?” but Beth smiled as she thought to herself.

_ Bobby, Crowley, Sam, Dean… _ but those names never left her mouth.  “I picked a few things up here and there.”

“You’re backing yourself into a corner, you realize that, don’t you?”  Peter only advanced as Beth felt the wall against her and she stole a peek in either direction.

“Never found a corner I couldn’t get out of.” She shrugged and bolted suddenly towards the right. 

Beth recognized the layout of the building, the same square hallways, the same doors and for a moment she thought she was back in Hyde Park but she had burnt that to the ground.  The stairway seemed to be in the same place and she hopped down it the best she could, trying to make it to the bottom. She knew she was up, because there was no way to go but down, but as she reached the last staircase, something in her told her to get out, to get off the path she was on and she took that advice.

She opened the door, slipping through with the slightest amount of space and helped it close as silently as possible before she ran through the ground floor of the warehouse, a large open space with nothing in it.  She didn’t know where she was but there was light that peeked through the bay doors. That was where she needed to go.

Just as she started running, gunshots fired from behind, bouncing off from the beams next to her and she ducked behind a large steel support beam.  For a moment she was able to catch her breath, but she knew they were getting closer.

Beth had no choice but to bolt and she ran as fast as her swollen ankle would let her, dodging bullet that she prayed weren’t aimed for her head.  They needed her alive, she needed to get out. As she pushed through the door, using her body as weight to move against the creaking hinges, she felt the warmth of the sun as she passed over the threshold.

Once out into the parking lot, her eyes scanned the fenced in area, hoping she could see some way out and spotted the chained gateway.  As she made it halfway to the fence she listened to the rumble of a familiar engine make its way down the street. Her heart raced as the Impala flew around the corner.  Beth stopped, forcing her legs to do something they seriously weren’t ready for and she watched as it took down the gated entrance and came to a screeching halt not more than five-hundred feet from her.  

She watched as Sam came out the passenger’s side and their eyes met.  He wasn’t hurt, damaged or bleeding in anyway, but the look of fear in his eyes told her that her fight with these people wasn’t over with yet.

She heard the shot before she felt it, the sting against her back and the world around her started to darken as she reached up and pulled the dart from her back.  She could hear Dean scream her name, and watched as Sam rushed towards her but her feet wouldn’t move, there was no way to get to them as her legs gave out from underneath her.  

Whatever it was, it was strong and fast acting because she never even felt the ground suddenly come up at her, or the force with which she hit it.

 

Sam watched it all happen in slow motion.  Dean whispered “I’m sorry” to the car and slammed on the gas breaking through the chain-linked fence as they rounded the corner and noticed Beth standing in the parking lot.  Sam braced himself for impact, watching as she hobbled at full speed towards them but when the Impala broke through, she stopped dead. He opened the door, before Dean had a chance to stop and stood there as the shot fired off.

He didn’t know where it came from but he could hear his brother yelling, as he stood, shocked while she fell to the ground.  Sam ran towards her, grabbing her up and in his arms before the armed men had their guns pointed to his head and he turned towards his brother.  Dean’s hands were up, as were Crowley’s and Cas’ but that wasn’t right, they had their own brand of magic, why didn’t they use it.

Sam could hear the yelling above the confusion in his head as they ordered him to put her down.  He couldn’t understand why he had to do that, he had just picked her up, but the look in Dean’s eyes had him realizing this wasn’t friendly territory and to do what they said. He watched, shocked and confused as some stranger picked her up and brought her into the building, but Sam, still kneeling on the ground, reached out cautiously and picked up the dart, tucking it up inside his shirt as he stood, his hands up like Dean, only taking cues from his brother because everything else seemed so foreign.

 

The room wasn’t very large but as Dean surveyed it he could tell it was where they were keeping her from the start.  The bleach smell in the hallway let him know that she had fought her way to that parking lot and a smile crossed his face.  Sam sat on the bed, his feet up on the mattress as his head rested against the wall and slowly Dean made his way over, aware of the camera followed his every move.  He sat down facing Sam at the edge of the cot and watched as his younger brother’s eyes met his.

“This is the best thing we can do for her,” Dean whispered, his voice barely audible but Sam had become really good at reading his lips.  “We can help her from here, we’re inside, we didn’t have to fight our way in here, which means no injuries to keep us from getting her out.”

Sam looked up at the camera, and gave a quick shrug, but he looked down at the bloodstain on the mattress.

“Hey, we know she’s stronger than this.”  Dean placed a hand on his shoulder and watched as Sam raised his eyebrows.  “We’ll get through, we always do.”

Crowley paced, not liking the enclosed space and he looked at them, they were always so sure, always brave but he couldn’t help but feel like something big was going to break and he put his back to the wall, looking up at the camera before turning his eyes to the Winchesters. He wanted to become angry, wanted to kill everything in sight but there only two men and an angel, nothing worth the blood and destruction over. He just needed to bide his time and wait for the right moment to let that inner demon out.

Castiel took in everything about the room, there were no outwards wards, nothing that he could see or feel but something was holding him back from popping out and getting the help they needed, something strong and way more powerful than he had ever seen before.  Crowley stared at him, the two were in the same boat, strong enough to move Heaven and Hell but defenseless against whatever  _ this  _ was.

 

Beth felt the slap on her face, not a nice wake up one but a hard slap that brought all of her senses to point, including the pain that she felt ripping through her leg.  She looked up, blue eyes wide and tried her hardest to figure out where she was. 

The fire in the open pit was stoked and the flames burned hot and bright as she noticed the long handle of the iron rod poking out.  This couldn’t be good at all. Her hands were bound above her head and she fought against the rope trying to free them but she could barely touch her toes to the floor to keep from spinning around let alone get her balance.

Peter walked up to her, his face smug as he reached out and grasped her by the chin, holding her still as her eyes focused on his.

“That was a nice display of power.” He was commending her for shooting his people, who the hell does that, but he continued.  “The unfortunate part is that you got your boys caught, just a few more seconds and you would have been home free.”

“That’s not how this works,” Beth sighed and looked at him, she knew what was meant to happen always did and she smiled at him.  “You know that as well as I do, we would be here, in this spot at some point in our lives again.”

“Yes, well, you’re right.”  He let her face go and walked behind her.  Beth could feel the blade that he ran over the back of her neck, the cold steel of it made her close her eyes, not that she enjoyed it but at the moment she hoped it would be plunged into her heart.  No such luck there either as he used it to shred down the back of her gown, exposing her back. “There’s just one little thing we have to take care of before we continue. Your little helper.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Beth laughed but she watched as the rod was taken from the pit, the end as red as hellfire and she swallowed hard.  “What is that?”

“A banishing sigil,” Peter said as he walked over and held it close to her face.  Beth could see the swirls that the iron made, the way it curved like a strange letter f and it was big.  Peter smiled at her fear as he handed it back to someone who stood beside him, heard it clank against the bricks when it was placed back into the fire. “You see, we have to get rid of Hera and there is only one way to do that.”  Beth didn’t flinch as he got close to her face, in fact she did her best to keep her heart rate under control as she felt his hand move the ripped material away from her side. “We need to clip your wings.”

“What?”  Her eyes were full now as she watched that red-hot brand come closer.  

Her breathing became so hard that she could barely stand the feeling in her chest and she could feel the heat coming off the iron as Peter held her in place.  The pain that flashed through her was nearly enough to send her into the darkness as they pressed it upwards through the left wing birthmark just under her rib, but she screamed through it only to be left fighting with all her strength and Peter smiled.

The man stepped up again, this time disappearing behind her and Beth stared right into Peter’s eyes as the heat came closer once more, her lips opened and the scream she sent out echoed through the halls as the brand closed over the right wing of her birthmark.

 

Sam and Dean both doubled over in pain, the searing heat coursed through them both as they held their heads, trying to stay conscious as Crowley and Cas moved towards them but there was nothing they could do. 

 

Beth fought the darkness with every fiber of strength she had and still came out with her eyes open, the pain on her ribs made her eyes droopy but there was no way she was going to let him win.  Her breathing came out heavy and though she was sure that his intent was to remove Hera from her, she didn’t feel any different, except for the fact that she could once again feel Sam and Dean, hear their thoughts and see through their eyes.

_ “Beth,”  _ Sam’s voice was nearly a cry for help but she sent out what she could, feeling him relax at the instant her mind touched his. Even though the hunter hadn’t tried, Beth could feel Dean as well, the way that he struggled with the pain of the brand.  

_ “And she’s buying a stairway to Heaven,” _ Dean sang which threw Beth back behind the walls once again, to where she could see everything, knew everything, needed everything. It was only for a split second and she was back in the room with Peter, who was taking her down from the ropes.  

He smiled as if he had succeed and Beth let him feel that way as she portrayed a limp prisoner, letting them bring her back to the cell with the boys.  

 

Once those doors were open, guns were pointed at the four of them as Beth was discarded on the bed.  She rolled over instantly off the side where the brands continued to sear but Sam placed as shirt over her as Dean grabbed her hand.  Cas moved to heal her, his hand upon her forehead but nothing.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” Cas whispered against her ear and Beth looked up at him.  Her pain was eased and that was all she asked for.

“There’s nothing for you to do,” she smiled and touched his face gently.  “They just sealed their own fate.” She spoke softly as Dean put her fingers to his lips and Sam brushed her hair from her face.  She reached own and slipped off the ring, pressing it into Sam’s hands as the confusion entered his eyes. “You need this.”

Sam watched as she pushed it down on his pinky, barely making it passed his knuckle.  “It belongs to you, it will keep you safe.”

“No, I don’t need its protection, you do.”  She smiled and watched as Dean’s eyes teared up.  “Listen to me, I know now, I know everything now and you need this, both of you. Promise me you will keep it close.”

“I promise,” Sam whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead.  “But, you’re not going anywhere.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere, but Sam, magic can’t be broken by two little sigils alone.”  Her voice was quiet, almost like a song, and she wanted to finally give into the darkness of the pain she felt but there was one last thing she had to tell him, one important thing that he needed to know, that she was sure he would understand it. “Sometimes you just need to sacrifice one magic for another.”

Sam felt her slip into the darkness as he gathered her up into his arms and sat down on the bed with her.  Dean wasn’t too far away as his younger brother held her and Crowley paced the wall. There was something in the room now, something that wasn’t there before. Cas noticed it too, but didn’t say anything as the two of them exchanged glances.  

Several times that hour, Cas would place his hand on her head, feeling her growing uncomfortable with the burns and try his best to ease them. Beth was in and out of consciousness, but Sam never let her go.  

Dean would move from one spot to the next always in a way that would allow him access to touch her, whether her leg or her head, but he found himself humming that same stupid tune, and Sam looked up at him every time he started it. Something was running through Dean’s head, but he just couldn’t grasp what exactly it was, not until they all heard the lock slide back and the door opened.

Dean stood, ready for battle as more than half a dozen armed men came in and pressed them back against the wall. Dean threw the first punch, creating an all-out riot but he was cold-cocked by the butt-end of a gun and sent straight to the floor as they wrestled Beth away from Sam, who started after them, but was sucker punched in the gut, sending him to the ground.  

Crowley didn’t put up a fight, but no one seemed to know why as Cas struggled to get to Dean and Sam before that door slammed shut on them and all four found themselves staring at it, the lock clicking closed.

Beth was gone.


	23. Bellum Semper - Season Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's now or never, good vs. evil and Beth has no plans on letting them win, or letting the gates of Tartarus open, but the only way that can happen is if all of them are in the same place at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize ahead of time.

Bellum Semper

SPN FanFic #23

Plot Copyright 2016 D. Gray

I acknowledge Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary, Crowley and the Impala are the property of The CW and Warner Brothers.

 

Beth was burned, bruised and bleeding.  She was weak from her trials as they dragged her through the hallway back to the Grand Pentacle but she was in no way broken.  The fire that burned in her was growing and even through half-lidded eyes, she could see everything around her. 

Her hands were tied once again with the rope and she smiled at Peter as she was strung up once more.  This was getting old, something really needed to be done about this asshole but Beth was just biding her time.  She turned as Peter did, watching as he sprinkled this and that along the outside of the Pentacle, reciting poorly spoken Latin as he did so.  Latin, not Greek, which didn’t confuse Beth but it was an interesting turn to see.

Peter’s eyes were on hers as well as she used the tip of her toes to twist around, her head leaning against one arm or the other and her mouth seemed to move as his did, reciting just what he was mumbling. This got him to stop for a moment and wonder just want the girl was up to, but when he stopped she did, not allowing him any insight into what was going on in her head.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?”  Beth questioned, her voice no more than a whisper, but it made Peter stop once again as her eyes looked over the bowls on the counter.  “Are those even real?”

“What do you care, you’re just a sacrifice?”  Peter watched Beth shrug the best she could before she let her head drop back and she looked up at the ropes.

“By the way, your Latin _ sucks _ !” She was goading him, hoping to get a response but Peter just moved on.  She listened a little bit more and smiled. “It’s immundus spiritus, you damned fool!”

“Shut up!”  Peter shouted and watched as Beth looked at him, picking her head up as she did so.  Finally a response. “My sister and her coven worked for years to perfect this spell, to summon up the Olympians so if you don’t think I know what I’m doing then maybe you should just shut your mouth.”

“What you’re saying is the Rituale Romanum, you ASS!”  Beth laughed. “Are you trying to exorcise demons, or conjure Olympians?”

“I’m fully aware of what I’m saying,” Peter grumbled and watched the spark in her eyes.  “You’re awful vibrant for someone who is about to spill the rest of your blood to open the gates of Tartarus.”

“Hell, if I’m going to die, what does it matter to me what incantation you use to get yourself there?”  She felt the tips of her toes going numb and it started to become harder to keep her balance to face him.  “But if you do it wrong, do you understand the consequences?” Peter smiled and nodded, “So you’re okay with screwing up and unleashing the biggest bag of dicks the world has ever seen onto the planet?”

“I have no plans on “screwing up”, Elizabeth.”  Peter smiled. “In another hour, the moon will be in the right position to start this and you, well, you’ll be bleeding out like a stuck pig.”

“Hmm, pork chops…” Beth whispered and let her head fall back again, “I haven’t had those in a while.”

Peter stepped across the line and grabbed her chin, forcing her head back to look him in the eyes, but she never flinched, never bothered to even bat an eye as he looked at her, ready to slit her throat right there and then.

“Listen to me, your arrogant little bitch, when this is done, the planet will be run by me.”  And this made Beth smiled.

“You think that you can control the old Gods with one tiny little spell?”  She laughed and shook her head the best she could while his grasp tightened, bruising her skin.  “Good luck with that, Chuck!” 

Peter pulled the tie from around his neck and gagged her, tying it tightly behind her head with a yank and Beth winced at the pain but smiled through, even with the fabric yanking on her lips.  Peter growled and went back to what he was doing but her plan had worked perfectly.

_ “Sam, Dean!” _ She whispered as her eyes stayed focused but her mind traveled to them, tickling the edges of their minds.

 

Sam looked up and turned to his brother watching Dean with the same “what the hell” look on his face and smiled.

“Beth?”  Sam whispered out loud and watched as Crowley and Cas came closer.  “Beth, how are you doing this?”

_ “The dumbass is doing it wrong,” _ she answered, her mental voice was strong but both of them could feel how weak her body was.  _ “They didn’t kick her out, they locked her in.” _

“What’s going on?” Crowley demanded and Dean shot him an angry glance.

“Beth, what’s going on?”  Dean repeated and looked up at him.

_ “It’s a Rituale Romanum,” _ she answered and Dean stared down the demon before him. “ _ Not something I expected but listen, it won’t get rid of Crowley, but it will stop reinforcements from getting in.  The Jackass is pronouncing everything wrong.” _

Dean smiled and looked up, “she says your safe, but whatever he’s doing, it’s wrong.”

“It figures, most mortals are completely inept at getting the pronunciations correct.”  Cas spoke up, but looked at the harsh glances he was getting, “except for the two of you.”

“Are you hurt?” Sam questioned and felt her responding.

_ “No more than when I left.” _ Beth laughed, which through Sam off a little.   _ “I’m just hanging around, gagged and wanting pork chops.  Do you think we can have some when we get home, with some rice, you know the fried kind that comes in a box…oh and green beans.  I love green beans.” _

Sam looked over at Dean, who wasn’t sure what was going on but Beth sounded a little out there just before the connection broke.

“What is it?”  Crowley spoke up, getting on Dean’s last nerve.

“Radio silence again.”  He answered and watched the man begin to pace once more.  Sam twirled the ring on his finger and watched as Dean stared at it.  “Hey, Sammy, what do you think she meant, sometimes you sacrifice one magic for another?”

“I don’t know, I think she was in too much pain to even comprehend what her own mind was saying.” Sam answered but he looked down at the ring, before his eyes turned back to his brother.  “She said she didn’t need its protection anymore.”

“Right,” Dean shrugged, “so like I said, what do you think she meant?”

“There’s a hint in there somewhere, I just can’t catch it.”  Sam sighed and placed the ring to his lips. Dean nodded and went back to singing the song in his head, trying to be cautious not to sing it out loud.

 

Beth brought her head up once again, the feeling in her hands had all but disappeared, but the pain in her ankle was back full force, giving her something tangible to hold onto as she kept her eyes locked on the bowls. She was willing to bet there was a liver, gallbladder, small intestines and a pancreas mixed in there somewhere because now her bowl was filled.

Hera’s alternate universe adventure was starting to make a lot of sense now. 

The room was quiet, a little too quiet and Beth spun herself around to find that she was alone in the hall.  It was her opportunity to look around better and she closed her eyes, pushing her body out and she soon found herself looking at the way she hung there, bloody, bruised and scarred.  

With a sigh she knelt down and looked at her ankle, and from the looks of the purpling pattern she might have guessed that somewhere in there was a fracture.  The fact that she had made it as far as she did with it was just a testament to the strength of the human will.

Walking behind, she pushed aside the gown too look at the brands that crossed her birthmark.  They were red and scorched and very angry looking as if infection had already set in. That was not going to be an easy thing to fix, but the one thing she did know was that something in here needed to be changed and she needed to change it quick.

Beth scoured the room, looking for any hints of what might be moved or adjusted enough to throw off the spell but just as she turned to walk back, she came face to face with her father again. Beth shook her head and continued what she was doing.

“I’m surprised to see you still moping around here, I thought you would have been gone by now.”  Beth said and glanced up at him as touched the symbols on the ground, tracing them with her fingers.  Paul didn’t say anything, just watched. “Does he even know you’re still lurking?”

“Whether he does or doesn’t, it really doesn’t matter.”  Paul answered nonchalantly and placed his hands behind his back.  He was just like she remembered him towards the end. An asshole who did nothing but push her away.  “When the end comes, I’m not going to be anywhere around.”

“What do you get from all this?  A free ride to Olympus?” Beth smiled, laughing to herself. “A golden chariot with some nice white horses…I hear Ares has a free one, since I knocked his ass clean off it.”

“You joke around too much, Beth, this isn’t a laughing matter.”  Paul’s voice was how it usually came off, scolding and disappointed.  

“Yeah, well, you’re not my father and I could give a shit what you think,” she answered, and craned her head to see the small etchings on the floor.  In her mind, something clicked and she grinned as she stood. Trying to wipe it from her face as she turned back to face him, Beth stared him in his eyes.  “You know what bothers me most about all of this?” He just stared as if he didn’t care, which he probably didn’t. “You!”

“How so?”

“You killed your wife and son to test a theory that your ex-wife and her psychotic brother cooked up and you didn’t seem fazed at all about it.  You dabbled in witchcraft and I mean the good shit, all sorts of evil-end of the world, release-the-Kracken type of craft and you pinned it all on a little girl.” Beth sat down on the altar steps and looked up at her own body.  “You wanted your own flesh and blood dead, because you finally figured out what kind of bastard you really are and you don’t even care.” Beth shook her head, thinking about everything and she shrugged. “I mean, what kind of father are you?”

“I taught you everything, Elizabeth, every tool you needed to survive.” Paul defended.

“And you tried to use it against me.”  She shrugged.

“I was trying to save you from this.”

“Something you created, Dad, bravo!”  She could see that he was getting irritated. “So what are you now, some sort of vengeful spirit?  A poltergeist? A figment of my broken and twisted imagination?”

“I’m part of the plan.”  He smiled, and Beth looked at him, really studied him for a second.

“A wandering soul,” she whispered and thought of the counter spell.  “Strange that I never noticed it before.” She smiled at him and shook her head.  “In the moments before I die, you are going to reach in and snatch my soul from my body.”  

“That is the plan and only a wandering soul can do that.”  Paul shrugged.

“You are one screwed up son of a bitch!” she nodded and stood, moving over to smile at him, the glimmer of blue in her eyes.  “Listen, Daddy Dearest, I don’t know if you can communicate with your partner there or not but these words are just for you. Try it and I will drag you so far down into Hell that you will never see what’s coming next, and trust me when I say that I have connections down there that will make your stay as unpleasant as possible.”

“I’m not afraid of your threats, angel.” Paul smiled as he brushed his daughter’s cheek with the back of his hand.  “I’ve been in hell for the last fifteen years, anything from here on out will be a vacation.”

“Oh, not where I’m sending you, trust me.”  Beth backed away and moved towards her body.  With one last peek at Paul, Beth gave a wink and connected with her mind.

 

When she opened her eyes, she smiled as she looked around the empty room once again, her eyes trained on the spots that she had found outside the circle. Pain raced through her as the brands began to flare and she closed her eyes, reaching out for the angel.

“Castiel,” she whispered and felt him connect with her.  It wasn’t like the boys, there was no tingle, no way of knowing he was there on the edge of her mind, but she could feel his power surge through her as the pain stopped, and the burning eased, but while she was connected to him, she pushed thoughts in his direction, scenes that she had witness and she felt him take it all in before the darkness finally took over.

 

Castiel sat on the bed, his elbows on his knees as he looked at the floor.  She was so strong, unlike any other human he had ever encountered, aside from Becca and he shook his head.  How would he do what she asked? How could he be so cruel to his family? But she had made him swear, on everything he loved that he would do exactly as she asked.  With a glance at Sam and Dean, he closed his eyes, broken as he swore.

 

Dean looked at Sam, knowing that they should be fighting, that they should be out there doing something but his brother just sat there, staring at that ring and he closed his eyes, thinking back to his childhood, to that one time in his life that made any kind of sense, a time that only him and Beth and Sam existed.

A seventeen-year-old Dean stood looking at her, trying to figure out just what Beth was doing, but then again, it was Beth and half the time she didn’t know what the hell she was going either, but this time it was different, this time she was upside down hanging from a tree.  Dean walked up, Sam sitting underneath her with a book in his hand as she read over his shoulder. 

“What are you doing?”  He questioned and both of them looked at him.  By now, Sam was gaining some sort of height and Beth wasn’t getting much bigger, but she was still light enough to use that skinny branch to swing from.  Dean watched as Sam looked up, getting a good view from where he sat of the skin on the other side of her loose shirt and Dean’s anger flared. “Beth get down!”

She seemed to know when not to piss of the older brother and reached up with her hands, tucked and dropped to the ground, while Dean sat next to Sam at the base of the tree and scanned the side of his brother’s face.  Sam just gave him a sly grin.

“Damned perv!”  Dean grumbled, more impressed than annoyed and Sam chuckled. “What are you reading anyway?”  He wasn’t really interested in the book as he watched Beth in the field doing cartwheels.

“I don’t actually know,” Sam smiled, “I...ah…stopped reading about an hour ago.”

Dean turned to look at him, as Sam also watched her move.  “Dude, you’re like thirteen,” but Sam just adjusted the book and continued to watch.  Suddenly, Dean ripped the book away and looked down, “and turned on. Great.”

He gave him back the book, watched Sam turn it over and place it on his lap as the two of them just watched as she moved.  Beth was something to admire, but she could fight with the best of them. That was the day that Sam stopped wrestling with her, and unless it was hand to hand combat training, he wouldn’t really touch her when she sparred.  Dean on the other hand, had no problems tossing the small girl around when she wanted to practice. In fact, he enjoyed it a little too much sometimes and found himself running into the house as the words “good times” left his mouth.  He wasn’t sure if she knew what she did to them, but she never showed it. 

 

Dean smiled as he looked over at Sam, wishing he could get into his head but he knew that his brother wouldn’t let him, not now, no matter what the connection was, but Dean did something completely un-Dean like and patted him on the leg.  Sam glanced over, questioningly and was surprised to find the look of some silly grin that spread across his face.

“What are you so slap-happy about?”  Sam whispered and watched as Dean put his head back against the wall.

“I was just remembering the time that you finally figured out that Beth was a girl,” Sam turned to him, a bit confused.

“I knew she was a girl all along, Dean.” Sam was a little taken aback by what he had said.

“No, like really a girl, one that you liked.” The younger Winchester shook his head, he knew Dean was just doing what Dean did but really, that was the memory he came up with?  “So, I’m not good at this stuff, so sue me.”

“I remember it too, Dean,” Sam answered and shrugged.  “The cartwheels in the grass, the book, the way she hung upside down from that branch.” And Dean just smiled, which made Sam give a little bit of a hint of something, some sort of fire in his veins.  “Why are we sitting here? Why are we not trying to get out there to get her?”

“We can’t.” Crowley spoke up and shook his head.  

“What do you mean, “we can’t”?” Dean asked with his best Crowley impression.

“If you two bozos had half a clue you would realize that your little girl is keeping us right where she wants us,” Crowley was still pacing under the camera, “safe.”

“You think Beth’s keeping us in here?”  Sam questioned and watched as he raised an eyebrow.

“You never thought to ask why you’re not burning with an anger to rip apart everyone from here to her?”  Crowley questioned and watched as Sam just shrugged. “Her magic is keeping us in here, or not hers but Hera’s.”

“When they brought her in, the power in the room did change.” Castiel agreed and looked over the three of them.  “I do believe he’s correct. Hera is keeping us in here to make sure that we’re safe and ready when we’re needed.  The urge to fight our way out has been nulled by some sort of spell.”

“And you’re sure it’s Hera?”  Dean questioned, watching Cas as he nodded.

“I’ve felt this power before and it’s definitely something that Beth would have brought in here with her.”  

“Great, so what do we do now?” Sam questioned.

“I say when that door opens, we kick ass!”  Dean suggested, standing up from the floor. He was tired of thinking of Beth in pain, tired of wondering what was going on with her and exactly why there was absolutely no contact.

“I second that,” Crowley nodded and looked at Sam.  “What do you think, Moose?”

“What do I think?” Sam stood and shook his head.  “I think the two of you are out of your damned freaking tree, that’s what I think.  Are you trying to get her killed? Putting up any kind of fight isn’t going to get us any closer to her.”  Sam stopped for a moment and thought about the words he just said, the fact that there is no way in a million years that he would sit idly by and wait.  “I think you’re right, there’s a spell on this room.”

Dean looked at Crowley and Cas as his jaw tightened and he moved closer, crossing his arms as he did, blocking his face from the camera.

“We need a plan, and we need it now, because as soon as that moon is up, they’re going to do their worst to her and we need to be there to stop it.”  Dean growled under his breath as he glanced at each of them. Sam stepped closer to Dean, his hands in his pockets, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible while they stood in front of Cas, who was still sitting on the bed, contemplating a new plan in his head. 

“This place, this plan, it seems to mimic the one in Hyde park,” Crowley added.  “They needed her blood and the blood of the people she killed, but there is one thing that can screw it all up,” the other three were watching him intently. “Our blood.”

“So we need to bleed, where?  In the main room?” Dean questioned.

“Anywhere,” Crowley’s eyebrows went up.  “The ritual room is just the place set up to do it but any blood on the property will change the contents of the spell, alter the chemistry if you will.”

“The drawing,” Sam whispered.  “That’s why we were in red, in a blood color, the four of us as a counter spell would have to bleed, somewhere, anywhere to help change it.”  Sam looked at Dean and shook his head. “Jesus, this gets more complicated by the minute.”

“It’s not complicated,” Dean smiled, his grin reaching his eyes, “it’s Beth.”

“What does that mean?”  Cas questioned and watched as Dean licked his lips. 

“She loves mysteries, haven’t you ever noticed that?”  Dean spoke up and just looked up at the darkness closing in.  “Of all the mythologies to hone in on, she’s got to pick the biggest one, with the most Gods, with the largest number of outcomes and tricks and turns and she knows every one of them.”  

Dean was right, Sam just never realized it before.  He knew that she had studied other religions, other mythologies, but he had never even stopped to think about the amount of data this one woman had on the Greek Gods. Beth wasn’t afraid because Beth knew the outcome, she knew what was going to happen now that she had all the pieces and she wasn’t sharing any of the puzzle with the rest of them, which was so typical Beth that Sam couldn’t help but smile.  

Even from that first case together, there had been a pattern.  Beth knew where to look, what to do, how to do and what it would take to get from one point to the next, but Sam never noticed because he was too busy watching the way she worked to notice the trend.  He was completely infatuated with a woman who was just as much of a control freak and a nerd as he was that he missed the obvious power behind her knowledge.

She had been living this life since she was small, her father and her grandfather had made it a point to put her in the middle of that study and give her the tools she needed to know what was coming at her and how fast but it made him stop and think as well.

“What if Paul did it on purpose?”  Sam questioned and watched as the others turned to him.  “What if he put the idea of the Greeks in her head so that she would do exactly what she’s doing now?  If you don’t swim, you sink, so what would Beth do?”

“Fight like hell and make it to shore.”  Dean replied and watched as Sam nodded. “And come out faster for it.”

“There was one thing he never counted on,” Sam added and turned to look at Crowley.  “A Demon to step in where he failed.”

“I do have to pat my own back, she was a wonderful student.”  Crowley smiled.

“But that’s not all she was,” Cas spoke up, and looked up at the King of Hell.  “You gave her a purpose, when she just wanted to die and move on, you gave her something to hold onto. Sink or swim.”

“And she didn’t swim, she flew.”  Sam smiled. “Like an angel, like a North Wind.”

 

Beth was humming when Peter entered the room and walked over to her as three men found their way to certain spots around beside and behind her. She was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to like what was coming next but at this point, there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Peter pulled the tie from her mouth and watched as she licked her lips, still grinning like a damned fool as she looked up at him from under her disheveled hair.  He smiled back, gave her a pat on the cheek and watched the cart that they pulled over, the different kind of knives that were set out on it made Beth more curious than nervous and she swallowed hard.  

Her mind automatically went to Cas, quietly asking him for help with the upcoming pain as well as what was already coursing through her body.  He was more than willing to help, and she could feel the shield that surrounded her. They could do their best but there was no way she was giving into this bastard without a fight, and she had four of the best reasons to keep fighting in the room somewhere down the hall.

“Do you know what we’re doing now?”  Peter questioned and Beth shook her head, her eyes not quite focusing on anything as he spoke.  “We’re going to place runes on your body to open you up to the incoming Gods. They’re going to use you as a passageway to this world.  It will hurt like a bitch but don’t worry, you won’t last through it to feel too much pain. Every time one passes the threshold, a little of your soul will be taken to give them life.”

“Oh, dear Uncle Peter,” Beth laughed, which came out more like breaths through her nose, “you can’t threaten me with a good time, I know all about how this thing works.”  Her eyes connected with his and she creased her brow. “Are you sure you have the right runes? Can I look at them, because your Latin stinks and I’m pretty sure you might screw them up too?”

Peter slapped her hard across the face and Beth let the pain flow through her, one more reminder that she was still alive and kicking, but it split her lip and she could taste the coppery sweetness flow into her mouth. He reached down to grab the closest knife, held it up so she could see it and then took his time just checking it over before he placed it down on the table once more.  It was too thick, too wide for what he wanted and he moved onto the next one.

With each blade, he proceeded to show her, let her inspect and then replaced it with another, something that was ongoing for almost fifteen minutes before he finally found just the right one. It was thin, almost nonexistent and he smiled as he ran it across the side of her neck.  Beth growled as the pain flashed through her, like a paper cut and she swallowed hard, trying to hold in the nausea that ran through her.

“Ah, we found our tool,” Peter smiled and watched as she followed his moves.  With the knife on the table, she felt him gather up the material that he had previously slashed into barely useful and bunched it up in front, tying it so that it only covered her breast and she was bare from there down, save for the dark panties she wore, ones that were covered in dirt and blood now.  “Runes like these have to be precise and, like you so generously put it, accurate. Would you like me to show you just what we’re going to draw on you, Beth?”

“Actually,” she turned her head, the burn of the cut and the sting of the slap were more than enough to keep her awake, “If you think you got this, go ahead and keep on trucking, far be it from me to stop a work in progress.”

“I was hoping you would say that.”  He smiled and stepped behind her. Beth braced herself for the burning, her mind attached to Cas as he tried to cover up as much of the burn as he could, but she was so strong herself that she barely flinched when he brought that knife down along her back. “Each one has to be placed just right and in a certain spot so that the Gods that come through know where their portal is.”

Beth’s drowsy eyes tried to focus on the symbols before her, even as the knife slit her skin.  Just like a paper cut, but even than there wasn’t much that Cas could do about it because its wasn’t really pain, not like the burns, not like her ankle and she shut him out, hoping to save him from the torture himself.  No Angel of the Lord should be subjected to what she was going through, no matter how free his will was and she did her best to breathe through the pain.

He moved over her skin, down her back, up to her shoulder blades, somewhere on her spine, down to the back of her thighs and even on her calves.  The worst of them seemed to be when he hit the bruise that was still growing on her ankle and she couldn’t help the small cry that came out then, which only got a smile from Peter.

When he moved up front, she watched him as he brought that knife down across her stomach, etching at her like a sculpture, but the fact that she didn’t react seemed to upset him and he stopped for a moment coming up to face her.

“This isn’t hurting you?”  He questioned and watched as her eyes drooped shut.  She was numb to the pain, she was burnt out from the fight, but the sick bastard had one of his nice friends grab her by the ankle and twist.

Beth howled in pain, one that ripped through her and her scream echoed down the halls.  She was awake, aware, alive and so pissed off that those droopy lids were open and full of fire.  Her breathing came out in force and she scowled at the man, unable to bare weight on the more seriously injured spot.  She found thought that her resolve was stronger, and she let the other one hold everything.

“You can do whatever the hell you want to me, I’m going to die anyway.”  She spat at him and Peter laughed.

“We won’t go so far as “whatever we want” because that would do damage to you and it’s highly inappropriate.” He chuckled. Beth caught his meaning, thanking her stars that she was avoiding that kind of physical torture but Peter seemed happy. “Now that I have your full attention, I’ll be going back to work.” 

This time Beth let the pain be felt, let it all sink in and the more he moved, the more she seemed to understand what he was writing.  She wasn’t a doorway; she was a vessel, the only problem with that was she was already being ridden so what happened if they all tried to come through. Her mind searched for Sam and Dean, wanting to find them, wanting to know they were alive and safe and not mad at her for the little spell that Hera had bestowed on the room.  

She didn’t need them to fight their way in, she needed them just to be there, in one piece and preferably breathing so that when she got out she could kick them all for coming in to try and rescue her.  She didn’t know if she was really as mad as she thought, or if she was loved more than she should have been. Beth had given Sam the ring for a reason, and he had taken it without fail. That alone would keep him safe.

She felt them all leave, knew that Peter had made some sort of mention of returning shortly to perform the ritual but she didn’t really pay attention, she just wanted five minutes to sleep.  She closed her eyes, and listened to the words in her head, familiar words from a familiar voice and she knew that Becca was trying to break through. She spoke them softly out loud so that the room didn’t feel so vast and empty.

“Semper oportet, semper fortis, semper discere, semper amabo,” but she stopped at the last one, smiling, “bellum semper!”  The last one repeated in her mind, “always keep fighting.” 

She couldn’t give up, never, not until she was reunited with the boys and they were safe. She opened her eyes, one last attempt to keep this thing going, to never give up, to always keep fighting and she found that even in her darkest hour, she had rays of hope.

 

Sam looked up as the lock clicked and slid, he glanced over at Dean, who was more than ready, then at Crowley, who stood as still as a statue, lastly he turned to Cas, who stood by his side and smiled.  They didn’t know how many of them there were but there was no way they were going down without a fight, even if it was just to prove a point.

When the first man came through the door, Dean swung and connected, which in turn had the second man squarely on top of him and they began to trade blows.  The grunts of the exchange brought reinforcements and Crowley took on the next two. Cas and Sam waited, holding their ground as the half-dozen or so finally entered the room.  This was it, this was where things were going to get heavy.

When it all came to an end, there was more blood on the floor than on the guys, but none were without their war wounds.  Sam and Dean smiled at each other, a fight well fought, but they were on the ground and if it weren’t for the fact that they were needed, they were pretty sure that they would have been dead….again.  

More than ten guards were picking themselves up from the floor and five of them were holding 9mms to the boys heads, Dean looked at Sam and raised an eyebrow, could they take them?  Sam kind of gave him a look, and a shrug, it was definitely possible, but were they up to it. Dean gave him a frown, tipped his head back and forth as if to say it was worth a try and both of them stood.  

Crowley was ready as was Cas and the brawl began again, this time shot were fired off as Sam wrestled the gun from his man, trying as hard as he could not to send it off in the direction of the iron walls, which would have been bad because bouncing bullets killed people.  Of course, so did Winchesters and when that first fatality hit the floor, Dean looked quite impressed. Sam kind of shrugged it off as the next one came at him, this time with a baton, which Dean knew Sam could handle. The kid was a pro with those.

Dean’s own man had taken a knee, one to the groin, one to the chin and found his way to the ground, but not before Dean found his gun.  The next one in line wasn’t as lucky, sure he got a few hits in now and again but Dean found the gun very useful even if it couldn’t be fired, and the butt came down across the back of the guy’s neck, sending him to sleepy time way before his curfew.

Cas and Crowley took on an impressive four at once, but none made it past the first round and just as all four of them headed out the door, they were met with a wall of armed soldiers ready to take out anything that moved.  Dean watched as Sam stopped, and exchanged looks. It was fun while it lasted, at least they thought so and both dropped the guns, placing their hands in the air as the wall parted and a man with reddish hair walked through.  

Dean recognized him instantly but Sam took a moment to let it sink in.

“My have the two of you grown.” He smiled and Sam glanced at Dean in confusion.

“Beth’s Uncle Peter,” Dean answered his unasked question and watched as the anger took over his brother, but Dean put a hand on his arm, shaking his head.

“You remember me, how wonderful! That means I made some sort of impression.”

“Yep, I remember you being just as big of a dick back then as now.” Dean smiled but kept his hands up.  “Where’s Beth?”

“Oh, you’ll be seeing her soon enough,” Peter answered  and moved towards them looking over each one of the men there before he stopped at Crowley.  “You could have just said yes to this whole thing and you would have been standing on the right side of this little…standoff.”

“I’ll take that girl any day over the likes of your lot.”  Crowley answered and watched as Sam and Dean looked at him.  “I have much more invested in her than you do.”

“And I appreciate all that you’ve done with our little angel, but now it’s time to let her go and let me use her for what she was made to do.”  Peter growled but Crowley only smiled.

“I can’t wait to see your face when she takes it off.”  He answered and Sam couldn’t help the little grin that formed on his lips.  

“King of Hell, not anymore.”  Peter smiled and walked away. “Okay, bring them along.”

 

Beth watched as they brought them in, the way that Sam and Dean looked, they certainly had put up a fight to get them out of that holding cell, but Beth knew she didn’t look any better.  She could feel the swelling of her lip and her tongue darted out to taste the blood. She knew she was marked up by the itching of the small paper cuts they had made on the different parts of her body, runes that would complete the spell.

Sam had blood that dripped down the side of his face, and a swollen cheek, not to mention a split lip.  Dean’s eye was turning purple but the fact that it wasn’t swelling told her that they hadn’t hit him quite right, but even his face was full of abrasions and different war wounds.  Castiel was beat to hell, she had never seen him so red with the liquid or so full of cuts but he could heal himself, why he chose not to was beyond her and Crowley, he looked like a man possessed, someone who was trying to hold onto that last bit of anger towards these people, at least enough for one last fight.

 

Sam’s lip quivered as he watched her hang there, the tips of her toes barely scrapping the ground, the way the ropes dug into her wrists as the blood dripped down her arms.  Marks all over her body ran red and the white gown they had her in was plastered in pink spots. But her eyes, those blue eyes were bright with color and she gave him a small smile, A SMILE!  In the middle of all this chaos, she winked and his heart did flips, responding to her and only her. The swelling on her ankle was bad, and the bruising there crept up her leg, but it was nothing compared to the angry marks on her back when her toes gave away and she spun around.  

With one glimpse of the torture she had been through, Dean was moving to his feet but it took three men to hold him down and Beth made her way back to face them.  She stared at him, locked eyes with the green-eyed man, the smile faded and the stare became intense. Sam could feel the power push as Dean’s heart rate dropped and he stopped fighting, not because he wanted to but because she made him.  Sam could hear him growl under his breath, trying anyway he could to get to her, but his body just sat there, disobeying.

Her eyes moved from his to the marks on the ground in front of him and Dean’s brow furrowed questioningly before he watched her do the motion again.  There before him was his tattoo, carved into the concrete, so small he never noticed it and when he looked back up at him, she smiled. 

Dean’s lips opened and he glanced to Sam, Cas and Crowley, all of the signs were there in front of them.  The hunters, Demon and Angel on the outside of the Grand Pentacle and she was the last one left, the last sacrifice before the gates to Tartarus opened up.

“No,” Dean whispered, as he felt her, the power in her, the strength that she held onto. “No, Beth, don’t!”

Sam turned towards him, his own breathing growing heavy as Peter started to make his way around the circle, but Cas’ expression was that of full on confusion.

“Cas?”  Sam whispered and watched him turn to him, shaking his head.  “What?”

“That incantation,” Castiel whispered.  “It’s wrong.”

“Wrong?”  Dean questioned and stared up at Beth, “you say that like it’s a bad thing.”  

“It’s a very bad thing.” Crowley shook his head.  “It’s the Rituale Romanum backwards.”

“Oh,” Dean replied as the extent of it filled his mind, “yeah, not good.”

But this got Beth to smile, as she listened to the words, as she felt the vibrations in the ground and slowly she opened her mouth.  Her eyes locked on Sam’s as she began to whisper words in Greek, words that at first he didn’t understand but as the power flowed from her, she could  see he was beginning to get it. 

As Peter chanted quite loudly, Beth only whispered and Sam began to whisper too, loud enough for Dean to hear.

“My will shall not be undone, my strength shall not be compromised,” he repeated every word she said in English, so that they could hear her, “For my demon’s rage, for my angel’s heart, for my lover’s bond, for my hunter’s love, my Gods shall not have mine.”

“What the hell does she mean by that?”  Dean questioned and watched as she went into a constant repeat of the same thing over and over and Sam repeated it every time, until he looked down.  The symbol before him began to glow a bright blue and he elbowed Dean, who also looked down. “Is she doing that?”

“No, it’s the counter spell.”  Crowley whispered and watched as the blood ran from Dean’s hand, a cut on the inside of his palm towards the symbol.  “She’s using us to grow more powerful.”

Dean could suddenly feel it, the way that the vibration passed through him.  Beth turned her eyes to him, as she whispered softly, the edges of her lips curled up in a smile.  Peter’s voice echoed over hers but it was all Dean heard as she spoke gently. Her hunter’s love. Her hunter! Slowly Dean closed his eyes, allowing her to draw from him.

Sam could feel it pull at him, and he smiled. He knew the bond she meant, knew what he had to do to give her the strength to survive.  He wiped the blood from his face, and placed the wet palm down on the symbol and slowly put his head back letting it flow to her. Crowley and Castiel were right behind, they understood, they knew the words, knew what she needed and Peter stopped chanting.  

The Grand Pentacle started to glow as the crimson color started to bubble but he watched it turn blue, glowing with the color of the Gods. He had succeeded but as he watched the way it moved, the way the glowing light flowed from one area to the other, he realized that he was so very wrong. The incantation was working in reverse, there was no way that it could draw itself.  

A witch would draw a star in a certain way, one to invoke, one to banish and the way this one was going, there was no way that it was invoking any Olympians today, or ever.  The blue was taking over, the banishing spell was working, and soon the floor shined with a pure blue light.

Beth looked at him as he approached and her eyes opened wide with the blue shining through, a glow they had only seen when Hera possessed her, but this was all Beth, and she smiled. Beyond Peter, she could see Paul standing at the edge of the circle, unable to cross it and when she caught his eyes, he could feel the darkness that surrounded him.  Things, shadows, creatures crawled from the woodwork and moved swiftly towards him, scratching and grabbing as they pulled him away, screaming into the depth of the darkness that the room had become.

“What are you doing, you little bitch?”  Peter watched her as her head lolled heavily but her eyes remained focused on him.

“Don’t you know?”  Beth smiled, but the words were barely a whisper.  “I am a North Wind, last of my kind, and you, Sir, are royally screwed.”

Beth let the power she had gathered go and the world around them erupted into chaos.  The four prisoners were now fully healed and had strength that they had never had before.  The people who gathered in the room were fighting back a force that they weren’t expecting but as hunters, Sam and Dean were proficient with anything they could get their hands on.

There was never any gunfire, because that wasn’t what they went for.  Sam used anything he could put his hand around and he was pretty good with a blade.  Dean used the candle stand, pointed at one end with a flat base on the other, something that he could whip around easily enough. Cas and Crowley had their powers back and with the two of them together the death rate was rising.

Peter growled at her and grabbed her by the chin, staring into those eyes as he pulled the Bowie from his belt, the same one she used to carve up the demons he had let loose on her some hours before. He twisted it in his hand, showing it to her as he held it up, still covered in the dried blood of her victims.  He was showing her because this was it, this was the last thing that he needed from her.

“No matter what you do to me, Peter, you have failed.”  Beth’s eyes glanced at the knife in his hand, and she shook her head.  “And if those boys don’t kill you today, you have my word that sometime in the future, I will hunt you down and I will rip you apart.”

“Not anytime soon, my precious niece,” he mumbled, brought the knife down out of her sight, the tip of it to her stomach and he thrusted.  Beth could feel the sharp pain, more powerful than anything else she had felt that day and as it made its way through tissue, she held her breath, not wanting to scream.  Her eyes were locked on his, not letting him go, wanting to make sure that he knew she hadn’t given up in the end, but when it punctured the other side, Beth’s eyes were wide.

Sam turned, just in time to see the shock spread across Beth’s face as Peter stepped back. The handle of the blade stuck out from Beth’s stomach, and she looked down the best she could before Peter grabbed it and yanked it out, dropping it on the floor.  He smiled at her, as she watched the blood run but when she looked up, and Sam moved forward, she watched the same look cross Peter’s as pain crossed through his eyes. Sam grasped her around the waist, lifting her up so that the hook that held her ropes gave way and she let her body relax, finally in the arms of the man she loved.

Dean’s angry scowl peaked out from behind the man as Dean pulled back on a bar, one that he had thrusted through the man’s chest from behind and he came around to the front, grabbing Peter by the collar, he held Peter up as Sam moved Beth.  Dean’s eyes rested on the blood that flowed from her and how pale her face had become, his heart sank as he watched his brother struggle to remain calm.

Sam sat down on the bloody floor, letting her body rest on his legs as he quickly removed the ropes with one hand as he put pressure on the wound, but it was straight through, she was bleeding from the back as well.  Beth’s hands came down and touched the blood that seeped from her wound and she looked up into Sam’s eyes as he touched her cheeks, caressing the pale, cold skin.

“I’m pretty sure there isn’t supposed to be so much of it on the outside,” she smiled and coughed as Dean stared on in shock.  Sam’s lips trembled as she blinked, licked her lips and connected with his blue-green eyes. “Listen to me, Sam. Always keep fighting, no matter what happens,” her breathing became labored as the blood began to fill her lungs and she could feel the cold coming over her body.  Nothing hurt anymore, she didn’t feel the pain and she reached up, caressing the side of his face with her fingers. “I love you, but you have to promise me, Sam, promise that you will always fight, always.”

“I promise,” he whispered softly and kissed her forehead as she looked down at the hole in her stomach.

Beth could feel the rise in heat, taking over the cold, and she smiled once more, this time she felt the glow hit her eyes as she struggled to breathe. She knew what was coming next, she had seen it with every Olympian that they had ever encountered.  The end, a flash, and then nothing. She prayed for silence, for pain, for nothingness and as she smiled, her breath coming in ragged short bursts through her noise, she looked up at him, her fingers tangling in his hair as she reached up to touch him one last time. 

“Close your eyes, Sammy.” She whispered, her finger brushing his cheek, and watched as tears fell from him, feeling like burns on her skin, “close your eyes,” she pleased, but that light in her eyes was quickly disappearing. “Close…your…eyes.”

Sam watched as she faded, as the last word out of her mouth was the last breath she took and that was when the anger took over.  He placed her down on the cement, trying to hold onto her as long as he could but that was when he saw it start, and he shielded his eyes just as she disappeared into a blinding explosion of light, one that cascaded through the room sending out a shockwave that nearly toppled everything over, and Dean released Peter, falling to his knees as he stared at his brother and the empty spot that Beth once occupied.

Sam slowly took a breath, one that gave his heart a thump against the pain in his chest, and his hand reached for the handle of that Bowie knife.  Dean saw it, the one fluid motion that happened in a matter of seconds as the blade left the ground, and Sam rose up, two steps towards Dean and without even looking he swung, the blade becoming an extension of his arm. 

Dean could hear the slice, but there was no resistance on the blade as Sam moved through, and the older brother looked up to see Sam standing over him, the blank face and emotionless stare looking down on him through the long tussles of brown hair that covered his eyes. 

Turning towards the man he had jabbed the bar into, Dean watched as the blood bubble along the line of this throat and slowly the body fell away, head going one way, body the other and Peter Elkins lay in two pieces before him.

Sam breathed through the anger and the loss, twisting the handle in his hand and Dean watched as pure instinct took over.  Sam annihilated every last living person in that room without blinking an eye before he stopped and turned, looking over Dean, Crowley and Cas. He was a broken man, who had again lost part of his heart.

Sam stood, the blade still dripping as Dean and Cas worked on the salt and the lighter fluid, spreading it around the building as fast as they could, but he never moved.  His eyes were locked onto that one spot, at least until Dean handed him the packet. His brother’s hand touching his seemed to break him from trance and Sam finally took a breath in.  He folded the matchbook, exposing them all and ran it against the brick, sparking the flame before dropping it on the puddle of fluid before him, but he didn’t move. 

 

It was Cas’ hand that did it, and the four of them were suddenly standing in the middle of the night, looking up at the inferno that blazed before them.  Sam wiped the knife on his shirt, and tucked it into the trunk, the silver ring around his pinky grew warm and he reached down to touch it, not really sure what it meant but he couldn’t remove it, not yet.

Dean watched him closely, making sure he didn’t grab a gun, that the blade didn’t run across his wrists, but all Sam did was change his clothes, tossing the ripped and bloodied ones in a bag before pulling the shirt over his shoulders.  With a glance up at his older brother, Sam gave him a slight smile, with droopy, weary eyes and moved toward the passenger’s seat of the Impala.

There wasn’t anything to say, no words as Dean just watched the place burn.  He stood there for a while, thinking to himself but nothing was going to change what happened. Nothing, but there was something still so cryptic about it all, about Beth and the way she went about everything.  It didn’t matter, he thought, because they would never know.

 

Beth had been a hunter, it was almost the only thing she had ever known in her life, besides the love of the boys and her best friend. But now she was gone.

Sam had stood at the edge of the room, looking over the bloody mess that they had created…that he created.  After she was “gone”, after Peter’s head hit the floor, he hadn’t stopped and every one of those Sons of bitches that stood in arm’s length of Sam’s blade met the same fate as their leader.  

Dean had never seen the man move so fast, with such precision or with such cruelty.  Once maybe, when he was soulless but not to this extent. And now Sam stood there, blood, Beth’s blood, coagulating around the Grand Pentacle in the middle of the room and without a word, he struck the matchbook and dropped the flame down into the fluid.  The Ultimate Salt and Burn.

 

Cas, who had stayed behind while Crowley zapped out to check on the women at the bunker, placed his hands on both men and they disappeared as the flame roared to life.  They had made sure that no one, in Heaven, Hell or Hades was going to be able to put that fire out.

Cas had zapped them to the bunker, after the fire had blazed on for a good number of hours, before the fire department was able to identify them, after they had moved the Impala a small distance away. He had then gone back and by some feat, whether with Crowley’s help or not, had brought the Impala back within moments of them returning. 

Dean was left to explain to Becca that they hadn’t been on time to save Beth.  She seemed to shut down, but never grieved, something Dean was expecting, because, you know all women are supposed to turn into blubbering piles of tears when they get this news.  He must have forgot that he was dealing with a witch, a hunter at that, and a damned good one. Beth had trained her well.

Sam only disappeared into his room, filling a bag instantly with everything that he needed to keep with him, everything that reminded him of her.  Those stupid photographs at the boardwalk in New Jersey were still in the envelope she had gotten when she picked them up from the store and those immediately went into the bag, her favorite perfume, which wasn’t really anything at all except just Beth, vanilla and musk but the pretty purple bottle had attracted her eye and she was never able to let it go.  Now Sam held it in his hand, in the middle of his palm and his fingers closed around it. Maybe he would find another bottle, this one was almost gone. He tried to find everything that he could and when he looked into a small box, he found a silver chain, one long enough so that he could wear it and he slipped her ring onto it before fastening it around his neck.  With a deep breath, Sam looked around, just long enough to realize what he was doing and quietly, in the safety of his own room, blocked by the soundproof walls, he broke down.

They spent a few days repairing the house before the insurance company arrived and assessed the damage from the “microburst that leveled some of the trees in the surrounding area as well”, and sent out a crew to take care of the rest of the renovations.  Sam wanted to help, but every time he heard the hammer fall, his heart got just a bit heavier, so from the time that they started the repairs to the time the crew went home, Sam was gone.

Once the house was in order, Becca warded it, and this time she used what she could from every grimoire she owned, and a few that Crowley could come up with, to solidify the barriers.  No one was getting in that house without the whistles and warnings going off in everyone’s head. In the end, they locked the doors, looked at the blackness through the windows and drove away.

 

Dean had Cas as his shotgun for the ride back to Lebanon, Kansas. Becca had chosen to stay back and fix up her apartment to make sure that her stuff was just as protected which meant Sam was alone in the 2010 and that gave him just the incentive he needed. That was when the hunting started.

He had detoured from the path, telling Dean not to worry, he would meet them at the Men of Letters bunker before he knew it and then he was gone.  

In the passing days, Sam hunted, just like the boys always had.  It was what Beth had wanted, for him to always keep fighting, but Dean thought there was no way she wanted _ this _ . With Beth’s ring on a string around his neck, Sam had disappeared.   He had basically taken on a devil-may-care, screw-the-lore and make-it-bloody kind of attitude towards hunting.  If it bled than off with its head, as if there wasn’t any other way to do it, and if there needed to be, it was an olive bullet through the brain, “for Beth”, not that they would have known who Beth was because they hadn’t seen an Olympian or anything resembling a Greek monster in weeks.

Of course, for them, no one ever really stayed gone, or off the charts and when Cas started picking up the hints of the brutal hunts, Dean knew exactly where Sam was, but it was never close to them, never near enough to bring the trail home and then one day, after a few months, it stopped.

 

Dean looked up at the bunker door squeaked open. Yeah, he had been meaning to fix that but what the hell, it was the best alarm system they had. Those big feet clomped down the stairs and the stained duffel plopped over the edge and down onto one of the chairs, but Dean was on his feet as soon as he had heard the foot falls.

When Sam reached the bottom, he was wrapped in tight hug, because brothers like these do that type of stuff and it’s not so weird at all, besides Sam figured it was better than the alternative.  Dean could have just outright swung and that would have been the end of it. With a smile, Sam hugged back, but it wasn’t real, it was full of pain.

Things went normal a bit too quick for Sam’s liking. Of course, he had been gone and never saw what his brother did to grieve the loss of his love but to Sam, it was just too soon. They were suddenly at the table, after a long night of needed rest for Sam, beer in one hand, the other typing away at the keyboard and Dean letting him know everything that had gone on as the months rolled by, but Sam just smiled, his fingers playing with the ring on the chain when he wasn’t clicking away at that stupid machine.

Sam didn’t offer up any information on his hunts, not where he had obtained the information, or who put him onto it.  He just stated “it’s like I knew where to find them” but Dean had a feeling that he had a little help. Of course, Crowley had already been interrogated about that aspect of it and in reply to Dean about Sam’s new found sense of Monsters , the only thing Crowley said was: “Moose is not Beth, and there is a rage in him that I would never touch”, which to Dean meant he wasn’t going to play on his grief. Then again, it was Crowley and who’s to say that the King of Hell wouldn’t throw a few things Sam’s way.

The conversations got shorter as Dean noticed the way that Sam looked as time passed.  His eyes had gone cold, there wasn’t much humor in his voice, or sassiness in the way he answered his brother.  Sam had become all business and when they were home in the bunker, it was hard to get him out of the room. It was like having the soulless one around again, but this time the difference was the grief, and the anger and the aggression all rolled into one.  It’s not that Sam didn’t care, it was that Sam didn’t care enough. 

His hunting put him in some seriously screwed up positions, like he was trying to get hurt, to feel anything, especially the pain but as always, Dean was there to save him, to keep him from the trouble.  One day, though, Dean thought, one day he wouldn’t be there to save him and Sam would go and get himself killed.

Beth had been gone over six months by now, and Dean, though his heart was broken, had always taken care of Sam, so now his little brother was his top priority.  He had to make sure that Sam was safe, even if it was from himself. He had cut down on the hunts, even disconnected a few of the phones. He had gone above and beyond to keep Sam from that life, at least for now, but they were the Winchesters, life as hunters never stopped when you needed it too.

 

One night, on a particularly full moon, Dean yelled down the echoing hallway.

“SAM?”  and listened for the echo of his brother as the door to the room opened slightly.

“Yeah?”  was the only reply.

“I’m going out, need anything?”  

“Nah, man, I’m good.”  And then the door closed.

Dean sighed, grabbed the keys to the Impala and made his way down to the garage.  As he stepped up to the driver’s side of his Baby, he noticed the black 2010 sitting in one of the bays.  Curiosity consumed him and he walked over towards it. His hand gliding over the contours of the car, thinking about how Beth had felt in his arms and he smiled.

He stopped, grabbed the handle and opened the passenger’s door, peeking into the darkness.  Sam had done a great job cleaning her out but there was still the evidence of his time in there. Small blood stains on the upholstery from wounds he had to patch up himself, little trinkets from the places he had stopped for gas which were things that Beth might have liked and they lined the rear deck.  Dean smiled at the small matchbox replica of a fox-body mustang that sat in the middle. 

The smell of Beth permeated the car, her Dark Vanilla Musk was evident thought the interior. It was a scent she had scoured the internet for until she was able to find it and buy it because that was just what Beth smelled like, and her black leather jacket hung on the passenger’s seat, as if she were sitting there the whole trip.

When he popped the trunk, he noticed that it too was sparkling but the hatch that hid all of Beth’s toys was unlocked.  When he pulled it open, he was shocked to find the crossbow there, wrapped in some silky fabric, attached to the roof of the hatch, never used at least in the time following her death, and gently reached in, trailing along it with his fingers.  

Dean glanced down and looked at the book that peeked out from under the mess of weapons and he smiled. There was no way he was touching it, but he was pretty sure that Moby Dick was no longer on the shelves at the bunker in New York. With a deep breath, and a profound sense of loss, Dean closed the trunk gently, and made his way back to the Impala.

 

He drove without a word, a newly recorded version of Stairway to Heaven blasted on the speakers and he stopped quickly at the store to swipe up a six pack, not that he intended to drink it all, and a nip bottle of tequila.  Rose, he thought the guy called it, which was supposed to taste like strawberries, but he didn’t care, he had no intention of drinking it either.

He parked by the water, under a train bridge, a place he had been going to at least once a week since he had arrived home, and the same routine happened every time.  He would wait until the song had finished, turned off the car, and get out. Two beers in hand, one he placed on the hood, the other he twisted open as he walked over to the water, nip in hand, and cracked that.  He looked up at the sky, not that he believed she might be watching, but because she would want him too and he dumped the Rose into the water, even in the dark, especially by the light of the full moon, he watched the pink streak disappear downstream and he would take a swig of the beer.

After a moment of quiet reflection, Dean made his way back towards the car and leaned on the Impala. He placed one hand in his pocket, crossed his legs at his ankles and just stared.  It always took him a while to get started, tonight wasn’t any acceptation. He must have been there a half an hour before he started to laugh at himself for being such a pansy.

“Hey, Bee, it’s me,” he whispered and watched the stars, some of them shooting across the sky, and he hoped above everything that it was her waving back, but he continued taking another swig of the beer.  “Sam’s… well, he’s back, but I think I told you that last week. He’s not himself, not without you. We’ve been hunting, which gets him out but otherwise he’s like broody teenager, always locking himself in his room.  He only eats when I force him and even that is usually those God-awful shakes. I think that man needs a burger. 

“On a good note, he still moving, at least from what I hear in the middle of the night.  He paces the halls, the workout room, makes some noises that I don’t even want to start to even guess at, but he’s not the same.” Dean sighed as he kicked the dirt with his shoes.  “I wish you were here.”

He finished off the first beer and opened the second, continuing on.  “Cas doesn’t come around much, from what I’ve gathered he’s up north with Becca, but I think you might already know that.  I think they’re working on a spell, something to bring you back. Lucifer is on the move again, some dickwads that call themselves the “British Men of Letters” are up to something stupid. Some chick named Kelly Kline is knocked up with Rosemary’s baby and… maybe that’s why Cas is staying away, maybe it’s not Becca, maybe it’s him trying to keep the girl safe. What are we going to do with a nephilim?”  He paused for a second. “Are you happy? Are you in Heaven?” He smiled as he thought about it, “I wonder if the three of us would share it, like Sam and I do, or will.”

His voice was cut short by the movements in the woods and he thought of investigating for just a moment but then shook his head, this was their time and he wasn’t going to veer from what he was doing.

“I checked on the building in Dunbarton, it’s completely gone, finally.  The demolition crew finished up there yesterday, taking away the last bit of the brick and concrete.” Dean was running out of things to tell her but he still stood there, finishing up his beer before he let his tears flow.  “I need you, I need you here, Sammy needs you here. I’m so sorry that I lost you, that I wasn’t fast enough, that we weren’t strong enough to save you, but you know what, I think you saved us.” And that was it, the beer was gone.  He wiped his tears from his eyes and took a deep ragged breath. “Beth, I love you.”

Those were the last words he said before he got back into the car and headed back to the bunker. 

Sam stepped out of the bushes and looked at the spot that Dean had parked.  His hands buried deep in the pockets of his coat. He had always wondered where his brother disappeared to and now he knew. With a sigh, he turned around and headed back up to where the stolen car sat, restarted the engine and drove the shortcut back towards the bunker, ditching the car along the way.  Dean would never be the wiser.

 

Two years had passed. Jack Kline, the nephilim boy had come to stay with the Winchesters. He was fantastic, smart as a whip and took after Cas like no tomorrow. Things were heavy for a while there, since a rift had been ripped into the very fabric of the world and suddenly they were bombarded with alternate reality people taking over the grounds. 

Michael, the archangel had escaped, taken Dean for a ride, for a while, but there was something in the Winchester blood that made it apparent that free will really was a thing. The threat, the real threat of harming Sam, of not being there for him kicked that son of a bitch out faster than he could blink. Of course, that brought about a visit from John. Really freaky Get-Out-Of-Heaven day pass thing that pretty much sent the angel packing but it happened, and now, now the bunker was quiet, the AU’s had all found homes and places to hunt. Mary had found Bobby and it was just the four of them when it had to be. 

Of course, Jack was up in New York with Becca and Cas and the bunker was quiet. For now.    
  


It started as a little pick of the strings, the melody flowed from the old acoustic with just a pick and Dean took a deep breath. He hadn’t touched this old thing in a long time, and wasn’t even sure he remembered how to play.  It was strange to find it after all this time, hidden in a closest in one of the other rooms in the bunker, an old Gibson guitar, one that needed tuning bad and that was what Dean had intended to do, just tune it, but when that first note sung out, he found himself playing it.

The melody was haunting, and of course, familiar.  Stairway to Heaven, because he hadn’t been able to get it out of his head since the start of her humming it.  It only felt right to play it, so the notes sang through the bunker as he sat in one of the chairs under the stairway, the guitar resting on his lap, his knee bent to make sure it sat right and his fingers seemed to move on their own, running over the strings like it was meant to be.

 

Sam heard it from the room, as he sat at his desk, penning out the longest and hardest letter he had ever needed to write, not that Dean would read it, not that Dean would care about it, but someday, his brother would want to know why.  That was when he heard the song and he found himself humming to his brother’s melody. He finished his points, making everything on the paper crystal clear so that Dean wouldn’t take on any responsibility, not that it would matter because Dean would put it all on himself anyway, as usual, but this time, there would be no coming back.

With a sigh, he placed the paper in an envelope, scribbled Dean’s name on the front of it and set it gently on the table before he walked to his bed.  He knew he wouldn’t be returning, not after tonight, not after…well, heaven or hell was waiting and he was ready. Two years of holding on, two years of holding it down, for Dean, for Jack, for Cas, but he couldn’t anymore. The darkness inside was worse than hell, and he just wanted it done. He missed her so much. 

Sam sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled the old Colt from the drawer, check to see if all the bullets were in there and spun the barrel.  That damned song, he sighed as he heard himself humming it once again. Christ, when he saw Beth again he was going to kick her in the ass for even starting this, or should the chance arise, Paul was going to burn alive with torture for making her remember it.  

These were his last thoughts?  Sam shook his head as he placed the barrel of the gun across his hand and read the inscription.   _ Non Timebo Mala _ .  “I will fear no evil.”  Sam didn’t fear anything and that was probably the problem, that was what lead him to this point in the first place.  He didn’t fear anything because he didn’t feel anything.

With a sigh, he cocked back the hammer and shook his head.  Dean was going to kick is ass for this. He blinked a few times, listened to the song as it moved through the halls and raised the gun, turning the barrel towards him and Sam looked down the hole, knowing that the tip of the bullet was there, staring back.

Dean’s voice was added to the sound that the guitar made, just as Sam was about to pull the trigger.  He stopped for a second and listened. Dean, who couldn’t sing to save his life, was right on point with the words, with the keys and it was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.  Sam smiled, the first in a while, finally Dean had gotten that whole singing thing down, too bad he would never hear it again, but he waited…waited until the final note was sung, until the final string echoed through the halls.

 

Dean let his voice fade, let the strings go as he strummed the last note and closed his eyes for a second to listen to the silence, but that was when it happened.

The lights flickered.  Not unusual in a place like that but EVERY light flickered.

 

Sam watched the lights dim just as the music died, and he gently moved the hammer back into safety, placing it down inside the drawer once again, but he held his old reliable piece in his hand and opened the door to the hallway.  All the lights, even the ones that were just for a little bit of illumination flickered and Sam made his way up the hallway.

 

Dean stood, placed the guitar down on the chair, stepping closer to the main table and he watched the lights grow brighter, so bright that he had to shield his eyes. It was sudden explosion and he turned around as every bulb in the place seemed to explode, to shower sparks down onto him, every overhead, ever table lamp, every nightlight shattered into a million pieces and in the darkness, before the generator kicked on, his first thought was his brother.

“SAM!!!” Not the same voice as before, but filled with concern and panic as he ran towards the hallway.  

 

When Sam heard Dean’s voice, his heart jumped, there was no way that this was normal and his feet moved before Sam could think.  He had to get to his brother, had to help Dean. By the time they reached the junction, both brothers were fully aware that they needed to be together, no matter what because this was not natural.

They found each other, as the generators kicked in and the dim orange light filled the hallway, but the sparks from the lights still flowed and another surge of power had Dean grabbing ahold of Sam’s shirt. Dean, ever the protector, made sure that he was dragging Sam along, whether the man wanted it or not and they found themselves standing in the main hall, watching the falling sparks and both were wide eyed in wonder at the power that seemed to flow through the bunker, a familiar, strong power that sent shivers through Sam, raising his hair on end.

Castiel stood in the middle of the room, in his usual attire, but he seemed confused and out of sorts, curious on what was going on and he stared at Sam and Dean.

“Cas?”  Dean questioned and watched the blue-eyed man look around. “What’s going on?”

“I was called here.”  He replied and searched the room, his eyes landing back on the brothers.  “What did you do?”

Both Sam and Dean were shocked, not sure what the angel was implying. 

“Cas, we’re just as baffled by this as you are.”  Sam replied. 

“No, the power is centered here, with you.” Cas shook his head and tilted his head just a bit, as if listening to the winds. The rain began to pelt against the windows at the top of the stairs, the way the wind howled it sounded like angry, vengeful spirit, but it wasn’t any of those, it was just a storm.  Sam looked to Dean as the same thoughts ran through his head, but Cas’ eyes looked around, darting through the main hall and he locked on Sam’s. “Something is coming.”

Then, as lightly as the whisper on the breeze, all three looked up towards the door as a word, just one word flowed through the air. The hair rose on Sam’s neck and Dean’s hand reached out yet again, grasping hold of the younger one’s shirt.  Sam responded the only way his instincts told him to, he grabbed Dean’s wrist.

_ “Castiel.”  _

And the angel was gone.


End file.
